Aaron Brown the Winner of the Canada vs China Team Sprint Challenge 100 Meters

By Adam Kopet

Aaron Brown came away the winner of the Canada vs. China Team Sprint Challenge 100 meters on the first day of the Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Classic, as reported by Jim Morris and the CBC.

Brown crossed the line first in 10.21 seconds, more than a tenth of a second ahead of China's Xu Zhouzheng who finished second in 10.33. It was a strong win for Brown, who has frequently been a background player for Andre De Grasse.

De Grasse finished third in 10.36. He has had a slow start to his season after missing the 2017 IAAF World Outdoor Championships with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. He also missed April's Commonwealth Games as a precaution.

De Grasse opened his season at the Drake Relays, running his fastest opening 100 meters of his career. However, that early speed did not translate to winning times in the Diamond League. De Grasse finished fourth in the 200 in Doha and eighth in the 100 in Shanghai.

Since those early season races, De Grasse has become a father. His girlfriend, American hurdler Nia Ali, gave birth Saturday to a daughter in Philadelphia, according to Morris and the Huffington Post. The couple met when they were students at USC.

For Brown, his win follows a strong of strong 200 performances. After earning silver at the Commonwealth Games, he put together a strong early European tour with runner-up finishes at the Oslo and Stockholm Diamond League meetings and getting the win at the Ostrava Golden Spike. In Oslo, Brown ran 19.98, breaking 20 seconds for the first time.

Both Brown and De Grasse will run on Canada's 4x100 relay to close out the final day of action in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Crystal Emmanuel won the women's 100 ahead of a trio of Chinese sprinters in 11.43. Canada also won both men's and women's 4x400 relays. The women's quartet of Madeline Price, Aiyanna Steering, Travia Jones and Sage Watson won in a meet record 3:32.08, more than nine seconds ahead of the Chinese team.

In non-Sprint Challenge competition, Canada's Christabel Nettey won the long jump with a leap of 20-10.75 (6.37m). Kylie Price was second with a leap of 19-10.25 (6.05m) and recent NCAA heptathlon champion Georgia Ellenwood of Canada was third with a leap of 19-7 (5.97m).

The second day of action at the Vancouver Sun Harry Jerome International Track Classic gets underway at 6:15 PDT Wednesday night. It can be viewed at AthleticsCanada.TV.