De Grasse outsprints friend, Canadian relay teammate Brown in men's 200m at Bislett Games

Doug Harrison · CBC Sports

· Posted: Jun 11, 2025 8:33 AM EDT | Last Updated: June 12

Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse drew adjacent with person and relay teammate Aaron Brown successful their 2nd gathering this play implicit 200 metres connected Thursday astatine the Bislett Games successful Oslo.

De Grasse reached the decorativeness line of the Diamond League contention successful 20.33 seconds for 3rd place, with Brown crossing sixth successful 20.65 with a flimsy tailwind connected a sunny evening successful the Norwegian capital.

"I request to spell backmost to grooming and marque immoderate changes," said De Grasse, the Canadian grounds holder. "I had a bully archetypal 150 metres but past I slowed astatine the end.

"I didn't tighten up but that is usually the champion portion of my contention and it wasn't tonight, unfortunately, truthful I request to spell backmost to grooming and hole immoderate things."

Thursday was the 5th 200 of the play for the 2021 Olympic champion and 2016 metallic medallist successful the distance.

• His play champion is 20.23 from the Grand Slam Track lawsuit successful Miramar, Fla., connected May 4.
• De Grasse ran 20.29 into a headwind connected May 18 successful Japan.
• He opened his outdoor run connected April 4 with a 20.32 clocking astatine the Florida Relays successful Gainesville, Fla.

"This play has been good truthful far, thing special," the 30-year-old said, "yet I'm blessed capable astatine this stage. The [Sept. 13-21] World [Athletics] Championships [in Tokyo] are inactive a agelong mode distant truthful I person clip to get sharp."

WATCH | De Grasse runs to 3rd-place decorativeness astatine Bislett Games:

De Grasse is looking guardant to representing Canada astatine worlds, with the extremity to look successful a final. He placed sixth successful the 200 last successful Budapest, Hungary successful 2023, 1 twelvemonth aft withdrawing from the lawsuit aft testing positive for COVID-19 a second clip little than 3 weeks earlier the satellite championships successful Eugene, Ore.

In Oslo, De Grasse and Brown — who helped Canada to Olympic golden past summertime successful Paris successful the men's 4x100m relay — were racing against each different for the first time in the 200 this play successful Diamond League action. De Grasse, from Markham, Ont., present holds an 8-5 borderline implicit Toronto's Brown all-time successful the region connected the professional circuit.

De Grasse besides prevailed successful their lone different Diamond League 200m matchup astatine Bislett Stadium connected July 1, 2021, clocking 20.09 to Brown's 20.38.

Brown had gained the precocious manus successful the affable rivalry to commencement 2025, beating De Grasse by 8-100ths of a 2nd astatine the Grand Slam Track lawsuit successful Philadelphia connected May 31, but it doesn't look they volition person a accidental to conscionable successful the league's last contention of the play aboriginal this period successful Los Angeles.

According to aggregate reports, the nonrecreational way league founded by four-time Olympic champion sprinter Michael Johnson has cancelled the June 27-29 lawsuit astatine UCLA's Drake Stadium but remains committed to returning successful 2026.

The inaugural play began successful Kingston, Jamaica, successful aboriginal April earlier meets in Miramar and Philadelphia, which condensed its docket to 2 days from three.

Strong last 60 metres

Thursday's 200 show from Brown was by acold his slowest of the season. The reigning nationalist champion ran a 20.35 SB connected May 16 successful Doha, Qatar.

Cuba's Reynier Mena took a bully pb disconnected a choky crook and delivered a beardown last 60 metres to win Thursday's contention successful 20.20, with Timothé Mumenthaler of Switzerland pursuing successful a personal-best 20.27.

He said helium entered the contention assured and healthy.

"I was feeling bully and felt I could get the win," said the 28-year-old with a 19.63 PB. "I did deliberation it mightiness beryllium a faster contention but I volition surely instrumentality the triumph and physique connected it."

Mena was thrilled to spot Jamaican sprint fable Usain Bolt astatine the track. Bolt, who retired successful 2017, holds the satellite records for the 100, 200 and 4x100.

"He is, of course, a leader of excavation arsenic good arsenic a leader for our sport," Mena said. "I would emotion to animate Cuban juniors successful the mode helium did with us."

Canada's Katzberg wins men's hammer throw

On Wednesday, Ethan Katzberg of Nanaimo, B.C., wasn't a exemplary of consistency but helium lone needed 1 beardown propulsion to triumph his 5th consecutive men's hammer propulsion contention to commencement the 2025 season.

The reigning satellite and Olympic champion was the lone jock successful the tract of 7 successful Oslo to surpass 80 metres, throwing 80.19 successful his 3rd of six attempts for his first Bislett Games title.

WATCH | Hammer thrower Camryn Rogers connected improving visibility of tract events:

[SUBHEAD]

Hurdler Warholm shatters ain world-best time

Norwegian hurdling large Karsten Warholm destroyed his ain satellite champion clip Thursday successful the seldom tally 30-metre hurdles.

Roared connected by the location crowd, the 2021 Olympic champion pulled distant from the tract implicit the last 50m, leaning crossed the decorativeness enactment successful 32.67 seconds to interruption his erstwhile people of 33.05 acceptable successful April.

American Rai Benjamin, the 2024 Paris Olympic champion, was 2nd successful 33.22, portion Alison dos Santos of Brazil was 3rd successful 33.38.

Julien Alfred, the archetypal jock from Saint Lucia to triumph an Olympic golden medal erstwhile she triumphed past twelvemonth successful Paris, opened her play with a triumph successful the 100 successful 10.89 seconds, mounting the gait arsenic the pistillate to bushed astatine the worlds successful Tokyo successful September.

"I was a small rusty but I got the triumph nether my loop which is the main thing," Alfred said. "As for my play I americium Olympic champion truthful I americium the 1 to bushed but I truly privation to adhd satellite champion to my sanction arsenic well."

WATCH | Olympic champ Alfred takes women's 100 metres:

Other results:

• World grounds holder Armand Duplantis of Sweden cruised to an casual triumph successful the rod vault, clearing 6.15m. The doubly Olympic and satellite champion called it a nighttime alternatively than pursuit a satellite grounds effort successful chilly 14 C temperatures. The 25-year-old had soared 6.27m successful February to interruption the satellite people for the 11th time.
• Nico Young became the fastest American implicit 5,000m outdoors erstwhile helium outsprinted the tract to triumph successful 12 minutes 45.27 seconds successful a thrilling contention afloat of nationalist records and idiosyncratic bests. George Mills was 4th successful 12.46.59 to obliterate the British grounds of 12:53.11 held by region large Mo Farah.
• Paris Olympic champion Emmanuel Wanyonyi of Kenya raced to triumph successful the men's 800, holding disconnected a fast-closing tract implicit the last 100 to decorativeness successful 1:42.78.
• Kenya's Faith Cherotich won the women's 3,000 steeplechase, outsprinting Olympic champion Winfred Yavi of Bahrain successful a neck-and-neck conflict implicit the last 200m, clocking 9:02.60 to borderline Yavi by 0.16 seconds.
• Haruka Kitaguchi of Japan, women's javelin golden medallist astatine the Paris Games, threw astir a metre much than the remainder of the tract to triumph successful Oslo with a flip of 64.63m.

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