Fast friends: Aaron Brown takes on U.S. club teammates at Doha Diamond League

Should Aaron Brown need added motivation for the men's 200-metre sprint at Friday's Diamond League meet, he can look to his left or right along the start line at Qatar Sports Club.

Positioned in Lane 5, the Toronto native will have Kenny Bednarek and Courtney Lindsey, with whom he trains in Montverde, Fla., to his right. Two lanes to Brown's left will be Kyree King, another American teammate from Star Athletics.

"I've trained with these guys all year so I have a good sense of where they will make their moves in the race," Brown said from Doha, site of Friday's meet. "I'm looking forward to testing out some things against familiar competition."

Fresh off capturing a silver medal behind Bednarek and the United States at World Relays, Brown will make his outdoor season debut in the 200 at 12:23 p.m. ET. Live streaming coverage of the event begins at 12 p.m. on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports App and CBC Gem.

Lindsey boasts a season world-leading time of 19.71 while King has gone 20.11, but Brown told CBC Sports the chirping between friends has yet to begin.

"I expect that to come after the race [Friday]," he said. "We had to race each other in the Bahamas, so now it will be fun to race individually and see how we stack up against each other.

"The extra motivation to do well is there for sure as they've all put up great performances so far and I want to get on the board, too."

WATCH | Brown runs 1st leg of Canada's silver-medal performance at relay worlds:

Brown met the 20.16-second automatic Olympic entry standard in the 200 just 29 days after the July 1, 2023 qualifying window opened, clocking 20.10 at the Canadian track and field championships.

He is not among the 19 sprinters to have run the 10-second standard for Paris