Canadian sprinter Jerome Blake earns 1st 200m win of season at Ostrava Golden Spike

Jerome Blake of Kelowna, B.C., surged down the straightaway to edge American Elijah Hall at the finish line in a winning time of 20.14 seconds in the men's 200 metres at the 61st Ostrava Golden Spike track and field meet on Tuesday in the Czech Republic.

Blake's performance into a slight headwind on a comfortable evening was slightly faster than his wind-assisted 20.25 at the Diamond League season opener earlier this month in Doha, Qatar, where he was sixth, and a bit slower than his fourth-place season and personal best of 20.04 on April 16 at the USATF Golden Games in Walnut, Calif.

It was the also the 26-year-old's first victory in a 200 final since July 7, 2019 at the BC Athletics Championship Jamboree in Kelowna. 

Blake, who was born in Buff Bay, Jamaica and relocated with his family to the Okanagan region in B.C. a few years ago, is scheduled to race his fourth 200 of the season at this Sunday's Diamond League meet in Rabat, Morocco.

WATCH | Blake clocks 20.14 seconds in men's 200m, topping field in Ostrava:

Zharnel Hughes of Great Britian was third on Tuesday in 20.29 and Brendon Rodney of Etobicoke, Ont., fourth in 20.34. The 30-year-old Rodney earned 100 relay bronze with Blake at last summer's Tokyo Olympics, a medal recently upgraded to silver after Great Britain was disqualified following CJ Ujah's doping violation.

Rodney, who was the only athlete in Tuesday's eight-man field with a sub-20-second PB (19.96), clocked a 10.20 SB in a 100 B race earlier in the day at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold event.

WATCH | Blake 'still growing as an athlete and person':

Elsewhere, Reece Prescod became the first European man to break 10 seconds in the 100 this season, clocking 9.93.

Prescod showed blistering