Aaron Brown finishes 3rd in 200m at Diamond League opener in Doha

Canada's Aaron Brown is carrying over last season's Diamond League momentum.

The 30-year-old Toronto native placed third in the men's 200 metres at the season-opening meet on Friday in Doha, Qatar, building off a second-place finish at the 2022 final in Zurich.

Brown crossed the line in 20.20 seconds behind a pair of Americans. Fred Kerley, the reigning 100m world champion, took top spot in 19.92 seconds, while Kenny Bednarek, who took earned silver at the 2022 worlds and 2021 Olympics, placed second once again in 20.11 seconds.

Canadian Andre De Grasse, the reigning Olympic champion, was sixth at 20.35 seconds. The time continues a slow start for the 28-year-old of Markham, Ont., who placed seventh at a meet in Botswana last weekend. Brown finished second in the same race.

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Kerley said it was a "comfortable" race, but added there's work still to do as the season ramps up.

"The most important  was to win, and I did. I was happy with the competition, it was a good one. The guys gave me a fight," he said.

A marquee women's 100m saw American Sha'Carri Richardson surge to victory in the final third of the race, setting a meet record of 10.77 seconds.

"I'm so blessed and thankful. I feel at peace. All I do is the best I do and I'm excited to do it," said Richardson, who was suspended during the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for cannabis.

Richardson, 23, outpaced reigning world 200m gold medallist Shericka Jackson of Jamaica, who placed second at 10.85 seconds, and England's Dina Asher-Smith, another former world champion who crossed in third place at 10.98 seconds.

"The whole point about my season is to race against the best, and I did that tonight,"