Bressanone/Brixen, Italy – New Canadian 100m youth record holder Aaron Brown says he is very determine to put his country’s sprint back on the map.

Since Donovan Bailey, the 1996 Olympics 100m champion, at 9.84, and Bruny Surin, who also has a personal best of 9.84, in the 90s, Canada has not produced any world class sprinters. However, Brown, who like Bailey and Surin, has roots in the Caribbean, is determined to change things. During Wednesday’s afternoon sessions at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships, Brown whose mother is from Barbados and father from Jamaica, ran 10.46 for a new Canadian youth record in the 100m second round. He beat the previous mark of 10.51 set by Phillip Hayle last year. “It means a lot to me,” he said while adding “it also means a lot for the country as my aim is to get the sprints back up on the map for Canada.” “I am very determined to do it for my country,” he continued.  He said to win the gold medal on Thursday’s second day would be the start of that process. “It would mean a lot for me to make my country proud, so I am very determined to get the gold,” added Brown. In the first round, Brown led the qualifiers with 10.56secs, then returned 10.46 in the second round, again the fastest time going into today’s semi-finals. “I know I can run faster,” he said of the two rounds. Now, looking onto the semi-finals and possible final, Brown said: “I feel I can PB again by running 10.3”. “I am feeling good after my personal best,” he added. Brown, who said this is his first international competition, expects the times to get slower for the final. “As each round goes by, it gets harder and harder, so I see 10.4 low winning the final.”  He said he was nervous at the start, but “now I am feeling good with myself.... It’s the biggest thing of my life”.

Anthony Foster for the IAAF