Aaron Brown.
Beach resident Aaron Brown, 16, who trains with the Phoenix club in Scarborough and attended Birchmount Collegiate Institute won the bronze medal in the 200-metre race at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Moncton on Friday, July 23. Here, Brown is shown in a file photo at Birchmount Stadium in July 2009.
Staff file photo/DAN PEARCE
Beach resident Aaron Brown, a graduate this year of Scarborough's Birchmount Park Collegiate, has made the 200-metre final at the World Junior Track and Field Championships which wrap up Sunday, July 25, in Moncton.
The 200m race is set for Friday, July 23, 9:30 p.m., local time.
Brown, 18, who finished fifth in the 100m event, sealed his berth by virtue of a second place finish in his semifinal heat on Thursday, July 22, in a time of 21.12s.
The top two of each of the three semifinal heats plus top two times after that qualified for the Friday night final. Brown wouldn't have qualified on his time, as two other competitors who also recorded 21.12, plus another who ran 21.11, did not qualify for the final.
The key for Brown turned out to be a photo finish win in his semifinal heat over American Oliver Bradwell who also clocked in at 21.12
"I didn't know where (Bradwell) was, I just prayed, hoped I got through and I came through," said Brown, in a interview published on the Athletics Canada website.
Brown was pleased with his race - even his start.
"My start was OK. Definitely a lot better than the 100 metre final. I can still improve on it, so I'll go work on that a bit. I thought I did a pretty good job on the bend. Coming off the bend, I lost a little bit of ground. I'll have to work on that a little bit. But I think I held myself through the end and I was able to make it through to the final."
Brown has bounced back after pulling a hamstring during the 200m race at last month's Ontario Federation of Athletic Associations (OFSAA) track and field championships, after earlier winning the OFSAA 100m in what turned out to be the final complete race of his high school career.
In September, he heads to the University of Southern California on a track scholarship.
"Hopefully I can get my body feeling a whole lot better, because I'm pretty sore from the 100 metre rounds and earlier today in the 200 metre," he said. "If I can get a good massage, eat right and sleep well, I think I can do pretty good in the finals."
To follow the event through the weekend, click on the event's homepage at http://www.iaaf.org/wjc10/index.html