After six thrilling days of action, perhaps this was the only appropriate climax.
In the final race on the final day of the IAAF World U20&nbsp;Championships Bydgoszcz 2016, it was the USA &ndash; yet again &ndash; who reigned supreme.
Despite the strength of the Botswanan quartet in the men&rsquo;s 4x400m, there always seemed a certain inevitability about the destination of the gold medal, and so it proved.
Ten times already this week, the sound of The Star-Spangled Banner had rung out around the stadium, heralding another gold medal for USA, and as the athletes set off for the final leg of the 4x400m, their anchor man Wilbert London III seemed&nbsp;desperate for an encore.
He faced a 10-metre deficit, but closed the gap gradually over the first 300 metres, slowly&nbsp;reeling in Botswana&rsquo;s Xholani Talane before powering on by with 50 metres to run. As he did so, a horde of his teammates beside the finish erupted into chants of U-S-A.&nbsp;
The US reached the finish in&nbsp;3:02.39, while Botswana, gallant in defeat, set an African U20 record of 3:02.81 in second. Jamaica took&nbsp;bronze in 3:04.83.
<h3>Gold rush</h3>
That race, in essence, was the story of the week in Bydgoszcz, where the&nbsp;USA didn&rsquo;t just top the medal table; they virtually monopolised it.
They took 11 gold medals, more than twice that of their closest competitor, Kenya, who took five. Their overall medal tally&nbsp;of 21 was also more than double their nearest rivals, Ethiopia.
The women&rsquo;s 4x400m proved another example of their&nbsp;dominance, the expected challenge of Jamaica disintegrating on the third leg as Stacey-Ann Williams gifted the US&nbsp;an insurmountable lead by running the entire leg in lane two. Despite the best efforts of individual bronze medallist Junelle Bromfeld on Jamaica's anchor leg, USA held on, with 800m champion Samantha Watson bringing them home in 3:29.11. &nbsp;
<h3>Euphoria for Elvira</h3>
As is so often the case in major championship finals, it was the athlete who kept her head best who prevailed in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles. In what proved an incredibly tight affair &ndash; just 0.08 covered the first four &ndash; Elvira Herman of Belarus clocked a European U20 and championship record of 12.85 to take gold.
European U20 champion last year, world U20 champion this year &ndash; you could forgive Herman for finally losing her composure when the result was confirmed. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m in a state of total euphoria,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I set a PB, national record and championship record. You can&rsquo;t find emotion like this anywhere else.&rdquo;
<h3>The fall and rise</h3>
With 550m to run in the men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase final, the medal contenders had been whittled to four: Kenya&rsquo;s Amos Kirui and Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, Eritrea&rsquo;s Yemane Haileselassie and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Getnet Wale.
Moments later, disaster struck for Wale, the Ethiopian crashing to the track after stumbling upon landing in the water pit. As Kirui and Ruto pushed the pace along at the front, Wale spent the ensuing 400 metres fighting his way back into medal contention, which he accomplished as he approached the final water jump in third&nbsp;place.
And then it happened again.
In an almost identical fall, Wale crashed to the track emerging from the water, but rose to his feet just as fast, somehow summoning the energy within him to continue on his medal hunt.
Up front, Kirui surged clear to win in 8:20.43, while Haileselassie found an extra gear to take silver in 8:22.67. Ruto, meanwhile, faded badly in the home straight and was chased down by Wale, who with a dogged effort lunged forward over&nbsp;the line, crashing to the track for the third time in a little&nbsp;over a minute to snatch bronze by 0.01 in 8:22.83.
Wale&nbsp;may be left with&nbsp;an array of bumps and bruises when he departs Bydgoszcz in&nbsp;the morning, but in his carry-on luggage he will have the ideal painkiller: a hard-fought medal&nbsp;for his country.&nbsp;
<h3>A winning Bett</h3>
With the wind gusting strongly around the stadium for the men&rsquo;s 800m final, many would have considered a conservative strategy &ndash; drafting off rivals&nbsp;until the business end of the race &ndash; the most sensible approach for a title contender. Not Kipyegon Bett.
The Kenyan swept to the lead as the eight athletes broke lanes in the back straight, passing 400m in 52.98. His teammate Willy Tarbei, who defeated Bett at the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali last year, was poised on his shoulder, appearing ready to strike.
This time, though, Bett was not for passing and he accelerated away off the final bend to win in 1:44.95, with Tarbei a close second in 1:45.50. &ldquo;I expected to win,&rdquo; said Bett. &ldquo;My only problem was the finishing kick, but I worked hard on that this year.&rdquo;
It showed.
Kenya&rsquo;s arch&nbsp;rivals gained some revenge in the women&rsquo;s 1500m, with Ethiopia taking gold and silver medals. Adanech Anbesa led the field home in 4:08.07 ahead of Fantu Worku, with the relatively unheralded US runner Christina Aragon charging through to take bronze in a PB of 4:08.71.
<h3>Gold again for high achiever Hruba</h3>
World U18 champion Michaela Hruba was widely expected to take the women&rsquo;s high jump title in Bydgoszcz, but the weight of expectation can often prove a hefty&nbsp;burden. If the 18-year-old felt the pressure, it certainly didn&rsquo;t show, as she sailed over 1.74m, 1.79m, 1.83m, 1.86m and 1.89m at the first time of asking.
That gave her complete control of the competition, with only Mexico&rsquo;s Ximena Lizbeth Esquivel able to join her at the deciding height of 1.91m. After a first-time failure, Hruba soon made the necessary adjustment and sailed clear.
Try as she might, Esquivel couldn&rsquo;t match her, and Hruba maintained her winning ways. &ldquo;Everything was perfect,&rdquo; she said afterwards. It was hard to disagree.
<h3>Magnificent Moaaz springs surprise</h3>
In his very first throw of the competition, Qatar&rsquo;s Mohamed Ibrahim Moaaz effectively ended the men&rsquo;s discus as a contest, unleashing a whopping throw of 63.63m to take command of the competition, a lead&nbsp;he never relinquished. &nbsp;
The 17-year-old&nbsp;had only been considered an outside medal chance before the event, and very&nbsp;few envisioned him taking gold. With this title under his belt, however, he is now planning more of the same in the coming years.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t even describe the feeling right now,&rdquo; said Moaaz, who left his senior&nbsp;rivals with a noteworthy prediction. &ldquo;Next year I will surprise you.&rdquo;
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

After six thrilling days of action, perhaps this was the only appropriate climax.

USA steals the show on climactic final day in Bydgoszcz

Amos Kirui kept Kenya&rsquo;s perfect IAAF World U20 Championships streak in the steeplechase alive for the 15th consecutive edition, but his victory didn&rsquo;t come until after one of the week&rsquo;s most ferociously entertaining contests on the track.
As expected, he and teammate Vincent Kipyegon Ruto, the world U18 champion, controlled the pace for most of the race, taking turns with the lead for the first two kilometres, Kirui bringing the field through the first 1000 metres in 2:51.39 and Ruto through 2000 metres in 5:35.00.
With three laps remaining, it was essentially a four-man race for the medals, with Ethiopian Getnet Wale and Eritrean Yemane Haileselassie joining the Kenyan pair in the hunt.
Shadowing the pair closest, Wale looked to be in strong position to make his move over the final lap &ndash; until he reached the water jump on the penultimate lap. Coming off the barrier, he slipped and tumbled as he tried to leave the water pit, seemingly tripping his way out of contention.
While he recovered, Haileselassie moved past him and into third, off on a solo chase of the Kenyan duo.
But Wale wasn&rsquo;t finished. He quickly made up ground, fighting his way back into contact with the leaders as they approached the last bend for the final time. Momentum appeared to be on his side as they approached the water jump where Wale, just about the pass Ruto, fell once again in nearly the identical spot.
At this point Kirui pulled away unchallenged to win in 8:20.43, with Haileselassie and Ruto giving chase. But some 25 metres from the finish, the pursuers for the minor medals found themselves yet again joined by Wale. In a rough-and-tumble battle at the line, Haileselassie got the upper hand for silver with Wale diving across the line in front of Ruto to take the bronze. Haileselassie clocked 8:22.67 and Wale a personal best of 8:22.83, a scant 0.01 ahead of Ruto.
&ldquo;It was a stunning victory,&rdquo; said Kirui, whose previous best was 8:37.4. &ldquo;I wanted to fight for the championship record. Now I want to focus on fighting for a place in the Diamond League.&rdquo;
Haileselassie, who was the fastest U20 runner in the Bydgoszcz field at 8:22.52, was also pleased.
&ldquo;I expected to fight for a medal here,&rdquo; the 18-year-old said. &ldquo;It was a close finish, but I know I should never give up.&rdquo;
Neither did Wale, but he paid for his efforts. For several minutes after he dove across the line, he barely moved. Eventually he was roused, lifted from the track and driven away on a stretcher. He missed the medal ceremony while he was attended to by medics, but was not transported to a hospital.&nbsp;
Further back, Yohanes Chiappinelli was fifth in an Italian U20 record of 8:32.66.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Report: men’s 3000m steeplechase - IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

Report: men’s 3000m steeplechase – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

The USA won an eighth successive 4x400m relay title after a thrilling homestretch battle with Botswana to drop the curtain on the IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016.
The quartet of Champion Allison, Ari Cogdell, Kahmari Montgomery and Will London out-dueled an inspired Botswana squad of Omphemetse Poo, Baboloki Thebe, Karabo Sibanda and Xholani Talane 3:02.39 to 3:02.81, the&nbsp;former&nbsp;the fastest U20 performance of the year and the latter an African U20 record.
Allison gave the US a slim lead on the opening leg, with Japan, Botswana and Germany following. But Thebe, a favourite for the individual 400m who was disqualified in the semifinals, was on fire, running down Cogdell midway through the back straight and recording a stunning 43.5 split.
Powering down the homestretch, Thebe handed off to Sibanda, the 400m bronze medallist, with a two-second lead. Montgomery, who was fifth in the 400m final, made up some ground on Sibanda, but London, the 400m silver medallist, still had some work do on the anchor leg against Talane.
He began noticeably chipping away at the deficit as he entered the back straight, and forging onwards, caught Talane as he then approached the final straight, pumping stride-for-stride. London made his decisive move with about 60 metres to go to cross the line unchallenged. Waving to the crowd, he briefly flexed his arms before reaching up to touch the sky.
Jamaica, powered by Anthony Carpenter, Sean Bailey, Terry Ricardo Thomas and Christoper Taylor, took bronze in 3:04.83.
Further back, Japan finished fourth in 3:07.02, more than a second clear of Germany (3:08.13)
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Report: men’s 4x400m relay - IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

Report: men’s 4x400m – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

Ukraine&rsquo;s Yuliya Levchenko led the 2016 world outdoor U20 list with a 1.95m clearance but world U18 champion Michaela Hruba, who already boasts sizeable experience at senior level, produced one of her best jumps of the summer campaign to claim her second global title in as many years.
Hruba cleared five successive heights between 1.74m and 1.89m on her first attempts to maintain her ascendency over the 13 finalists but the 18-year-old put the title beyond the reach of her opponents by clearing 1.91m on her second attempt.
The Czech cleared 1.95m this winter &ndash; and had some good attempts at 1.98m during the indoor season &ndash; but that height proved just beyond the capacity of the 2014 world U20 silver medallist on this occasion.
&ldquo;I thought the competition would be difficult because Levchenko has jumped very high this year,&rdquo; said Hruba, who has been selected to represent the Czech Republic at the Olympic Games next month. &ldquo;The qualifying was a bit hard but in the final today, everything was perfect.&rdquo;
Mexico had previously claimed five medals in World U20 Championships history &ndash; all in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m race walk &ndash; but Ximena Lizbeth Esquivel added to their medal haul by clearing 1.89m to claim silver.
&ldquo;I did expect a medal, but to be honest, I expected a bronze one,&rdquo; said Esquivel. &ldquo;It means a lot to me and shows that Mexico can also do something in the field events.&rdquo;
Levchenko took bronze on countback with a 1.86m clearance but she didn&rsquo;t display any disappointment with her performance.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;This is the biggest success of my career,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really expect a medal.&rdquo;
Steven Mills for the IAAF

Ukraine’s Yuliya Levchenko led the 2016 world outdoor U20 list with a 1.95m clearance but world U18 champion Michaela Hruba, who already boasts sizeable experience at senior level, produced one of her best jumps of the summer campaign to claim her second global title in as many years.

Report: women's high jump – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

Ethiopia claimed gold and silver for the second championships in a row with Adanech Anbesa and Fantu Worku outpacing the six runners who remained in title contention with 200 metres remaining.
Anbesa&rsquo;s victory completes the Ethiopian whitewash in the middle and long distances on the women&rsquo;s programme with Beyenu Degefa and Kalkidan Fentie winning the 3000m and 5000m respectively.
By contrast, the Kenyans came away empty handed &ndash; just as they did in the 3000m &ndash; with Winfred Mbithe losing out in the battle for the bronze medal against USA&rsquo;s Christina Aragon. Their best showing on the flat was a silver medal from Immaculate Chepkirui in the 5000m yesterday morning.
While the men&rsquo;s final was a slow and tactical affair where elbows were required, European U20 champion Bobby Clay &ndash; who comes from a solid cross-country background &ndash; made it respectable from the gun, passing 400m in 67.63 and 800m in 2:14.96.
But the Ethiopians who sat in the pack in the early stages moved up into the top two positions &ndash; Anbesa and Worku in that order &ndash; as the bell sounded with 3:04.50 on the clock.
While the Kenyan challenge began to wilt on the last lap, Alexa Efraimson kept the USA&rsquo;s title hopes alive as she challenged for the lead with 200m remaining, but the fastest athlete in the field with a 4:03.39 lifetime best couldn&rsquo;t maintain her position.
The Ethiopians kicked clear with Anbesa and Worku clocking 4:08.07 and 4:08.43 respectively while Aragon overhauled Mbithe &ndash; and her teammate Efraimson &ndash; to claim bronze in 4:09.25 with Mbithe (4:09.25) and Efraimson (4:10.23) filling out the top five.
Worku has finished second to Anbesa twice in big races this year &ndash; the other being the African Championships in Durban where she finished fourth in a race won by Caster Semenya &ndash; but the silver medallist is one year younger than Anbesa and is eligible to compete at the next edition of the World U20 Championships in Tampere in 2018.
Steven Mills for the IAAF

Ethiopia claimed gold and silver for the second championships in a row with Adanech Anbesa and Fantu Worku outpacing the six runners who remained in title contention with 200 metres remaining.

Report: women's 1500m – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

It was predicted to be one of the highest-quality races of the championships, and so it proved.
It also produced one of the most surprising finishes.
Two of the entrants for the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles had run faster than 13 seconds heading into Bydgoszcz. Both of them went sub-13 again in the final in the Zawisza Stadium, but so too did another three women.
So deep was the quality of the final, world U20 leader Tobi Amusan produced the second-fastest run of her life, but it was only good enough for fifth place. And prodigious US talent Tia Jones, who last month ran a world age-15 best of 12.84, had to settle for bronze.
Instead, it was Elvira Herman of Belarus who kept her cool and maintained her form best, coming through strong over the final few barriers to cross the line first in a championship record of 12.85.
There was a spot of drama at the start as US U20 champion Alexis Duncan appeared to jump the gun. But as the race was called back, the green card was shown and athletes returned to their blocks, ready to go again.
As the race got underway at the second time of asking, Duncan got out best and she led by about a metre over the first few flights of hurdles. Jones, Amusan, Herman and Jamaica&rsquo;s Rushelle Burton were all level with one another.
At the ninth hurdle, Herman, Jones and Burton drew level with Duncan. By the time of the 10th hurdle, they had passed her and the trio crossed the line seemingly in unison.
After a nervous wait for the confirmation of the results, Herman was declared the winner with a European U20 record of 12.85.
Burton, the biggest surprise performer of the final, took silver with a national U20 record of 12.87, while Jones earned bronze with 12.89.
All three medallists either matched or bettered the previous championship record of 12.89 set two years ago by Kendell Williams. It was also the first time in World U20 Championships history that five women had bettered 13 seconds.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m in a state of total euphoria right now,&rdquo; said Herman. &ldquo;You just can&rsquo;t find emotion like this anywhere else. I set a PB, a national record and championship record! I'm not going to the Olympics, since the qualifying period has already passed, but the next Games are awaiting me.&rdquo;
Duncan, who had been one of the favourites at the IAAF World Youth Championships Cali 2015 before hitting a hurdle, finished just outside the medals here but was rewarded with a PB of 12.93. Amusan was fifth with 12.95.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

It was predicted to be one of the highest-quality races of the championships, and so it proved.

Report: women's 100m hurdles – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

As expected, Kenya produced a second consecutive 1-2 finish in the 800m, with Kipyegon Bett prevailing over Willy Tarbei in 1:44.95.
It was a strong front-running performance by Bett, who led from the 200-metres point onwards, to turn the tables on Tarbei who finished ahead of him at last year&rsquo;s IAAF World Youth Championships Cali 2015.
&ldquo;I lost to Willy last year but this time I expected to win after I finished first at the Kenyan Trials this year,&rdquo; said Bett, who clocked a PB of 1:44.4 in the Nairobi race. &ldquo;My only problem was the finishing kick, and I worked hard on that this year.&rdquo;
That didn&rsquo;t show as he collected Kenya&rsquo;s 10th world U20 title over the distance.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not disappointed to lose to my teammate,&rdquo; said Tarbei, who clocked 1:45.50. &ldquo;I have an injured toe that that was not a big problem today. Our tactic today was to run together, it is easier to run fast that way.&rdquo;
They did just that, controlling the tempo from the break. First they brushed off Brian Bell of the US who gave chase over the first lap, and then both Jesus Tonatiu Lopez of Mexico, who briefly ran third down the back straight on the second lap. And finally Morocco&rsquo;s Mostafa Smaili, who powered past the Mexican on the final bend to cruise to the bronze.
Smaili, who was an impressive sixth at the IAAF World Indoor Championships Portland 2016 in March, clocked 1:46.02 in third, the first ever medal in the event at these championships for Morocco.
Lopez was a distant fourth in 1:46.70 with Canada&rsquo;s Robert Heppenstall (1:47.33) fifth.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Report: men's 800m - IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

Report: men's 800m – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

In his very first throw of the competition, Mohamed Ibrahim Moaaz of Qatar effectively ended the men&rsquo;s discus final as a contest, unleashing a whopping throw of 63.63m to take command of the lead, a position he never relinquished. &nbsp;
Despite fouling his remaining three attempts, that proved good enough for gold, giving him victory over Poland&rsquo;s Oskar Stachnik and Belarus&rsquo;s Hleb Zhuk.
&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t even describe the feeling right now,&rdquo; said Moaaz, who is now turning his attention to success at senior level. &ldquo;Next year I will surprise you.&rdquo;
Though Moaaz only ranked as an outsider for the title on Sunday afternoon, there were signs the Qatari 17-year-old could cause an upset. He had conquered the best throwers on his continent at the Asian Junior Championships in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, last month, throwing&nbsp; a best of 60.49m, and in Bydgoszcz he duly conquered the world.&nbsp;
In qualifying on Saturday, he added more than half a metre to his PB when throwing 62.79m. As he entered the throwing circle for his first attempt during Sunday&rsquo;s final, however, few of his rivals could have expected what was to come as he sent the discus spinning high, sailing&nbsp;well past the 60-metre line to the gasps of the crowd.
The&nbsp;distance, 63.63m, added almost a metre to his best, but more importantly gave him complete control of the competition.
Many had expected world U20 leader Clemens Prufer of Germany to assume that position from the outset, but he struggled from the start, fouling his first attempt and throwing just 55.98m on his second try, more than 10 metres down on his best. His third effort was better, a throw of 59.10m enough to put him into sixth position and give himself one more shot, but Prufer fouled his final attempt and was disconsolate afterwards with his failure to reach the podium.
Shot put champion Konrad Bukowiecki was next into the throwing circle in the final round, but his foul did nothing to improve his best effort of 59.71m, which left him in fifth place. Sweden&rsquo;s Wictor Petersson&rsquo;s fourth and final&nbsp;effort of 59.55m left him in fourth place, his opening attempt of 61.23m being his best&nbsp;of the day.
That just left the three medal men to decide which step of the podium they would ascend to later on Saturday. Hleb Zhuk of Belarus fouled his final throw, leaving him with the bronze medal after a best effort of 61.70m.
Poland&rsquo;s Oskar Stachnik had loomed as the principle threat to Moaaz heading into the final round after a throw of 62.83m in the third round moved him up to second, but he was unable to better that on his last attempt, the discus hitting the ground 61.34m away to hand the Qatari gold.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

In his very first throw of the competition, Mohamed Ibrahim Moaaz of Qatar effectively ended the men’s discus final as a contest, unleashing a whopping throw of 63.63m to take command of the lead, a position he never relinquished.  

 Report: men’s discus – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016  

Youth Olympic champion Yanis David went to Bydgoszcz as one of the favourites for the triple jump title. She will leave the Polish city as the world U20 long jump champion.
Some may argue that the exuberant 18-year-old competed too much here in Bydgoszcz, but David has no regrets.
&ldquo;My body hurts everywhere,&rdquo; she said after finishing ninth in the triple jump final on Saturday morning, just 14 hours after the conclusion of the long jump final. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a little tired but I am so proud.&rdquo;
David&rsquo;s Polish campaign had started on Thursday morning and it took her all three of her qualifying attempts to grab a spot in the long jump final. The following day was arguably her busiest as she narrowly avoided disaster in the morning&rsquo;s triple jump qualifying round, once again needing three attempts to secure one of the 12 spots in the final. David had to compose herself and deal with two fouls before she could finally hit the board and register a mark.
&ldquo;I honestly would have preferred to take just one jump and avoid all the stress of the two opening fouls,&rdquo; she said in her native French. &ldquo;I was so relieved to make it through.&rdquo;
Relieved and free from the stress of qualifying, she looked far more poised when she lined up for the long jump final just six hours later. This time around she was not going to make the same mistake, and her mighty 6.42m opener, just six centimetres short of her personal best, would prove good enough for the gold.
&ldquo;I am so happy, this is the first time that I have cried (in a competition),&rdquo; she said after a competition in which she yet again recorded two fouls. &ldquo;I still can&rsquo;t believe I&rsquo;m a world champion.&rdquo;
<h3>Pride of France</h3>
With teammate Hilary Kpatcha holding the bronze medal position, David was having fun in the pit. But the French supporters in the stand were having even more fun, chanting and clapping louder than all the other fans.
As the event rounded up and medals were confirmed, David and Kpatcha hugged in one of the championships&rsquo; nicest moments. Meanwhile, French officials, coaches and teammates gathered around and started singing a spontaneous Marseillaise.
&ldquo;They were just really happy for me. And for us,&rdquo; said David. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s our first gold, actually our first medals of the championships. It simply feels good to sing the national anthem. It brings us all together.&rdquo;
David was all smiles as she went through media duty, switching from French to English. And although her English is not yet perfect, she has definitely improved since moving to the University of Florida in January where she trains with the likes of world indoor champion Marquis Dendy under the guidance of coach Nick Petersen.
&ldquo;They came for me,&rdquo; she said of the recruiting process. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t really know what to do after graduating, but they offered me a scholarship and now I&rsquo;m a gator.&rdquo;
It hasn&rsquo;t been an easy decision for David who had to leave behind her mum, dad and grandma in her native Guadeloupe, an island that has produced many French stars, including Marie Jos&eacute; P&eacute;rec, Christine Arron and Wilhem Belocian, winner of the world U20 110m hurdles title in Oregon two years ago.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had my ups and downs since moving,&rdquo; says David. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve felt lonely many a times but it&rsquo;s paying off and I&rsquo;m so glad.&rdquo;
Among one of her lowest moments of the past six months was having to adjust to the US culture and fast food. David revealed that she has had to work with a nutritionist to get back to her former competitive shape, although she admits she hasn&rsquo;t yet reached her ideal weight.
<h3>Jack of all trades, master of the jumps</h3>
Aged six, David came to athletics by chance. She&rsquo;s the first in the family to excel in the sport, in any sport really. &ldquo;I had to do sports. It was either tennis or athletics and I had no interest in tennis.&rdquo;
Athletics it was. From the early stages she has touched upon almost every athletics event &ndash; &ldquo;I think the only thing I haven&rsquo;t tried out is the hammer&rdquo; &ndash; and actually began as a middle-distance runner. &ldquo;In my age group I ran a lot of 600m and 1000m races.&rdquo;
David also sprinted, hurdled and completed a few heptathlons before finding her niche in the horizontal jumps. She knows that&rsquo;s where her future lies, although she doesn&rsquo;t rule out focusing more on sprinting someday.
Petersen is full of praise for his new-found gem. &ldquo;The first time I saw her, she was 15 in Bermuda. She won the long jump at the Carifta Games,&rdquo; he recalled.
&ldquo;She has only just started with us; once we&rsquo;ve had a full fall with her, you will see her full potential,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;This is just the beginning.&rdquo;
David admits she was stunned by her achievements in the long jump in Bydgoszcz.
&ldquo;I did not expect to win gold,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I just trusted my abilities and then I started believing this could actually happen. I was a bit tired from the triple jump qualifiers so I gave it all I had with my first jump. I think my third jump was better but I fouled. I think I could&rsquo;ve jumped further but I&rsquo;ll take that mark.&rdquo;
Although it didn&rsquo;t work out so well for her in the triple jump, she is quick to point out that she &ldquo;still loves the triple jump&rdquo;. But she may also love the long jump &ldquo;a little more&rdquo; than before.
And who could blame her for that?
Laura Arcoleo for the IAAF

Youth Olympic champion Yanis David went to Bydgoszcz as one of the favourites for the triple jump title. She will leave the Polish city as the world U20 long jump champion.

Triple jump still the favoured event for long jump champion David

Can any event on the athletics programme boast such diverse global representation as the men&rsquo;s javelin?
While the world record-holder is from the Czech Republic, the reigning Olympic and world champions hail from Trinidad and Tobago and Kenya respectively. Now India has a world record-holder and global champion with Neeraj Chopra highlighting the penultimate day of competition at the IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz.
Chopra led the 2016 world U20 lists with a breakout 82.23m in February but he hadn&rsquo;t surpassed the 80-metre line since then, which suggested that he may have peaked too early.
After a solid opening round throw of 79.66m, Chopra produced arguably the standout performance of the first five days, launching the spear nearly two metres beyond Latvia&rsquo;s Zigismunds Sirmais&rsquo; five-year-old record of 84.69m with 86.48m in the second round (subject to the usual ratification procedures).
&ldquo;I was hoping to throw far but I never expected to throw over 86 metres and break the world U20 record,&rdquo; said Chopra, who became the first Indian winner in championship history. &ldquo;My ultimate target was to qualify for the Olympics but I didn&rsquo;t make it. My other goal was to win at the World U20 Championships.&rdquo;
South Africa&rsquo;s Johan Grobler opened his account by adding six metres to his lifetime best with 80.59m to claim the silver medal while Grenada picked up their first ever medal in a technical event with Anderson Peters improving his national senior record to 79.65m.
<h3>Volz surprises Marschall</h3>
With a 5.45m season&rsquo;s best outdoors, Deakin Volz wasn&rsquo;t considered one of the main candidates for the pole vault but the US athlete, who has cleared 5.62m indoors this winter, sailed over an outright lifetime best of 5.65m on his first attempt to defeat pre-competition favourite Kurtis Marschall from Australia.
Marschall had to settle for the silver medal with a 5.55m clearance while US-based world U18 champion Armand Duplantis from Sweden &ndash; who still has three full seasons left as an U20 athlete &ndash; claimed bronze with a 5.45m clearance.
Beatrice Nedberge Llano became just the fourth Norwegian to claim a world U20 title with a polished performance in the hammer. The 18-year-old launched herself into the lead with a second-round throw of 63.55m before consolidating her advantage with her following throw of 63.81m.
But with the gold medal safely in the pocket, Llano saved her best throw for last: 64.33m to seal the title ahead of Australia&rsquo;s Alexandra Hulley (63.47m) and Finland&rsquo;s Suvi Koskinen (62.49m).
World U20 leader Ayamey Medina from Cuba was never a factor in the final. Her only valid throw of 58.27m placed her down in 10th.
<h3>Hyde and Odiong win titles on the road to Rio</h3>
Jaheel Hyde claimed the 400m hurdles title two years ago as an U18 and the Jamaican demonstrated he is one of the event&rsquo;s great prospects by becoming the first two-time winner of the discipline at the World U20 Championships.
Hyde, who finished second at his national championships last month in 48.81, was a cut above his opponents, sealing victory in the third-fastest time of his emerging career in 49.03 ahead of Taylor McLaughlin &ndash; the older brother of Sydney &ndash; in 49.45 with Kyron McMaster taking bronze in 49.56.&nbsp;
Barbadian Sada Williams led the 2016 world U20 200m list with 22.61 but her country&rsquo;s wait for a world title on the track goes on as she pulled up injured after running a tentative bend.
Edidiong Ofonime Odiong from Bahrain was the fastest in the heats and semifinals and would have been difficult to beat even if Williams was healthy. Odiong powered to a national U20 record of 22.84, winning by the sizeable margin of 0.37 ahead of Colombia&rsquo;s Evelyn Rivera.
Odiong and Rivera will both be going to Rio next month but Rivera will be competing in the 100m instead.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Selemon Barega could be a prospect for future Olympic Games as he produced a 55.40 last lap to win the 5000m title in 13:21.21 ahead of Djibouti&rsquo;s Djamal Direh (13:21.50) and Kenya&rsquo;s Wesley Ledema (13:23.34).
The credentials of the Japanese sprint relay team looked modest in comparison to the USA, who boasted individual champions Michael Norman and Noah Lyles on the lead-off and anchor legs respectively, but the underdogs looked on the cusp of producing an upset for 370 metres of the final.
The favourites&rsquo; superior basic speed was the factor on the last leg with Lyles, who has run 20.09 for 200m, coming from behind to defeat the leaders who were anchored by 10.29 100m performer Kenta Oshima.
The United States duly sealed their 10th sprint relay title in championship history in 38.93 ahead of Japan (39.01) with Germany (39.13) just holding off the Jamaicans for the bronze medal by four thousandths.
Candace Hill received the baton in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m final on level terms with Germany and France but the individual champion anchored the USA to a clear-cut victory in 43.69 ahead of France (44.05) and Germany (44.18).&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Herman and Smaili emerge as title contenders</h3>
The women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles was tipped to be a contest between the US duo of Tia Jones and Alexis Duncan and Nigeria&rsquo;s Tobi Amusan, who finished second at the NCAA Championships earlier this summer.
But European junior champion Elvira Herman from Belarus is the fourth genuine contender for the global title. She qualified as the fastest for tomorrow&rsquo;s final with a national U20 record of 12.97 &ndash; her first sub-13 clocking to move to second on the European U20 all-time list &ndash; with Amusan (12.99) and Jones (13.09) also winning their semifinals.
Likewise, the narrative in the 800m semifinals didn&rsquo;t entirely pan out with world indoor finalist Mustafa Smaili from Morocco looking in shape to upset the Kenyan hegemony, easing to victory in the first semifinal in 1:46.51.
Kenyan U20 champion Kipyegon Bett starts as the favourite after impressively winning the third semifinal in 1:46.37 but world U18 champion Willy Tarbei, who had strapping on both of his hamstrings, laboured to a narrow win in the second semifinal in 1:48.27.&nbsp;
Steven Mills for the IAAF

Can any event on the athletics programme boast such diverse global representation as the men’s javelin?

Chopra smashes world U20 javelin record in Bydgoszcz

Few expected the US women to be challenged in Saturday evening&rsquo;s 4x100m final, given that they had won this title at the past six editions of these championships and were sending a formidable quartet into action for the 2016 edition.
After they executed some slick baton exchanges, that&rsquo;s exactly how it turned out, with individual 100m champion Candace Hill powering away from her rivals down the home straight to give her nation their ninth gold medal of the championships.
Tia Jones led them off, handing over to Taylor Bennett in second place. At that point, it was the Germans who led, with Ireland also in medal contention on the outside and France making strong inroads in lane three.
Kaylor Harris handed over to Candace Hill for the final leg with the US team in third position, fractionally behind France and Germany.
From there, the result seemed inevitable, and Hill duly routed her two competitors down the final stretch, pulling away with every stride to win in 43.69, which was unsurprisingly the fastest time in the world by an U20 team this year.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible to run with such a fast group of girls,&rdquo; said Hill. &ldquo;We did an awesome job.&rdquo;
France came out on top in the battle for the minor medals, with Estelle Raffai edging Germany&rsquo;s Chantal Butzek, 44.05 to 44.18.
&ldquo;We messed up one of the handovers a bit, but overall it went well,&rdquo; said Fanny Peltier, France's&nbsp;third-leg runner. &ldquo;We wanted to get first place but we had come to this competition with the third fastest time, so we were not sure we would place so high.&rdquo;
Poland powered home from the inside lane, with 100m silver medallist Ewa Swoboda snatching fourth place on the line from Ireland&rsquo;s Ciara Neville, the Polish team clocking 44.81. Back in fifth, the Irish quartet took 0.27 off their national U20 record with 44.82. &nbsp;
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

Few expected the US women to be challenged in Saturday evening’s 4x100m final, given that they had won this title at the past six editions of these championships and were sending a formidable quartet into action for the 2016 edition. 

Report: women's 4x100m – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

USA&rsquo;s Deakin Volz didn&rsquo;t just surpass his lifetime best during the men&rsquo;s pole vault final on Saturday evening (23); he obliterated it. The 19-year-old first soared over 5.60m to take the gold medal, then flew higher still with a PB of 5.65m, adding 20 centimetres to his previous outdoor best.
The result was an upset, given Volz had been defeated at his own national U20 championships in Clovis, California, last month. However, those who knew of his pedigree realised a performance like this was always imminent.
His father, Dave, is a former US record-holder at the event who competed at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and the way his son is going, that&rsquo;s an achievement that Deakin now appears poised to emulate in four years&rsquo; time. &nbsp;
In Saturday evening&rsquo;s final, however, the pressure was heaped not on Volz, but on Australia&rsquo;s Kurtis Marschall, who shocked the U20 ranks of pole vaulting by clearing 5.70m and qualifying for the Rio Olympics last month in Mannheim.
Volz opened his competition on shaky footing, clearing the straightforward height of 5.00m before recording a failure at 5.10m. However, he sailed clear at the second attempt and followed it with first-time clearances at 5.30m and 5.40m.
Marschall recorded an early failure at 5.30m, but cleared at the second attempt before going on to clear 5.45m and 5.55m also on the first try. That put him firmly in command, as only Volz was left in the competition at such a lofty height.
When Volz failed his first attempt at 5.60m, it looked as if the gold was headed to Australia for the first time in 20 years, but he had other plans. On his second attempt, Volz got a perfect plant and elevated directly upwards, making no contact as he soared over the bar in a perfect arc.
Marschall had one attempt remaining to answer at 5.60m, and though his legs and hips sailed over without contact, his chest bumped the bar off and with that, the gold was Volz&rsquo;s.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s incredible,&rdquo; said Volz. &ldquo;I missed a jump early and wasn&rsquo;t in a good spot, but I fought on and just kept moving up poles, jumping higher and higher. When I cleared 5.50m I knew I had a good shot to win. I was seeded really low coming into this meet, so I&rsquo;m not quite sure I can believe I won. My Dad sent me a text this morning saying, 'time to go jump 5.60m', so I one-upped him there.&rdquo;
Marschall finished second with a best of 5.55m. &ldquo;I knew I could get that 5.60m but I just couldn&rsquo;t adjust,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was a good competition though and I&rsquo;ll learn a lot from it.&rdquo;
Sweden&rsquo;s world U18 champion Armand Duplantis equipped himself admirably against athletes two years his senior, finishing third with a best of 5.45m. &ldquo;I came into this ranked fifth or sixth, so my goal was to make the podium,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;This feels really good.&rdquo;
Greece&rsquo;s Emmanouil Karalis finished fourth with a best of 5.40m, beating Britain&rsquo;s Adam Hague, who also cleared 5.40m, on countback.
Iraq&rsquo;s Muntadher Falih Abdulwahid bowed out in eighth position after two failures at 5.40m and one at 5.45m, leaving him with a best clearance of 5.30m on the day. However, Abdulwahid had much reason to be proud, given he was the first ever finalist for Iraq in the history of the IAAF World U20 Championships.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

Report: men's pole vault - IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016

WORLD ATHLETICS U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS

‘Mission accomplished’ in Bydgoszcz, Hyde now looking to go even faster in Rio

Rising sprint star Norman chooses 'step-by-step' approach to the next level

After a silver in Bydgoszcz, Tarbei's future seems paved with gold

Krah sets out to follow in Merritt and Johnson’s footsteps

Report: women’s 4x400m – IAAF World U20 Championships Bydgoszcz 2016