In a week where nothing seemed certain, this was the only fitting conclusion &ndash; a dropped baton, a race filled with captivating, climactic chaos, the favourites beaten, the underdogs rising, and gold going to Italy.
The men&rsquo;s 4x400m, and its aftermath, embodied just about everything wonderful about the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018, the shrieking support from the stands giving the stars of the show a fantastic send-off.
After a poor championships by USA by their incredibly high standards &ndash; one in which they were demoted to third in the medal table &ndash; it seemed certain the old reliable, the 4x400m, would be theirs for the taking.
But their baton crashed to the track at the end of the first leg, and though it was swiftly picked up by lead-leg runner Elija Godwin, the loss of seconds would prove critical. Out front, Italy and Belgium were charging ahead in the race for gold, the Italians seizing command on the third leg after an inspired run by Alessandro Sibilio.
He passed on to Edoardo Scotti who pulled further clear, the European U20 champions eventually adding the world U20 title in 3:04.05. Afterwards the Italian team gathered by the medal rostrum and made the loudest noise of the week as they roared their national anthem in unison, a team in the true sense of the word.
USA did well to salvage second with 3:05.26, with Britain taking third in 3:05.64.
The women&rsquo;s race proved a far more straightforward affair for USA, their individual class shining bright as they ripped around the four laps in splendid isolation. Taylor Manson was able to effectively enjoy an early lap of honour on the final leg before crossing the line in 3:28.74. 
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Taylor Manson of the USA takes the baton in the 4x400m at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
&nbsp;
Australia capped a great week with silver in 3:31.36, with Jamaica third in 3:31.90.
USA got their day off to a great start with gold in the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles, though the judges need their most powerful lenses to separate Tia Jones and Britany Anderson.
Both crossed the line in 13.012, exactly, the thousandths of a second unable to separate them, but USA&rsquo;s Jones given the verdict by a hair&rsquo;s breadth from the Jamaican. Cortney Jones came through strongly for third in 13.19 to take another minor medal for USA.
<h3>Two titles for Ethiopia</h3>
In the distance events, Ethiopia moved themselves up to fourth on the medal table with a superb brace of gold medals from steeplechaser Takele Nigate and 1500m runner Alemaz Samuel.
In the 3000m steeplechase, Kenya&rsquo;s Leonard Bett had been tipped to take gold and continue his nation&rsquo;s fine, formidable record in the event, the Kenyans having won gold at every edition from 1988 onwards.
But that run of dominance was put to an abrupt end thanks to a late, irresistible surge by Nigate, who out-duelled Bett in a gruelling home-straight battle to take gold in 8:25.35.
"My plan was to kick with 100 metres to go. I was pleased to snatch the gold medal in the final second,&rdquo; said Nigate. 
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Athletes clear the water barrier in the 3000m steeplechase at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s 1500m was won in contrasting style by Samuel, who became the third successive champion from Ethiopia. She made a long drive for home entering the final lap, which she covered in 61.04 to take a convincing win in 4:09.67 over Kenya&rsquo;s Miriam Cherop and Switzerland&rsquo;s Delia Sclabas.
Afterwards, Samuel&rsquo;s words suggested it was as it looked: effortless.
&ldquo;It was a slow race &ndash; it was very easy for me,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I was expecting a hard race.&rdquo;
Kenya gained some revenge on their East African rivals in the men&rsquo;s 800m, where Solomon Lekuta took gold with a run that required speed, stamina and a sheer sense of self-belief.
Lekuta and teammate Ngeno Kipngetich secured their nation a third consecutive one-two in the event, the pair coming home in 1:46.35 and 1:46.45 respectively, Lekuta just the stronger down the home straight.
&ldquo;I'm really happy with the gold medal but the competition was really hot because everyone wanted it too,&rdquo; said Lekuta. &ldquo;I've been training for this championship for a long time and I want to dedicate the gold medal to my parents.&rdquo;
Algeria&rsquo;s Oussama Cherrad held on for third, but he was later disqualified for halting the run of Belgium&rsquo;s Eliott Crestan approaching the finish, a decision which upgraded Crestan to bronze in 1:47.27.
<h3>Jumps golds for Bulgaria and Belarus</h3>
Bulgaria&rsquo;s Aleksandra Nacheva unveiled a stunning leap in the second round of the women&rsquo;s triple jump to take her nation&rsquo;s first gold medal in the event since Tereza Marinova&rsquo;s triumph in 1996.
Despite Brazil&rsquo;s Mirieli Santos producing a breakthrough effort of 13.81m and Cuba&rsquo;s Davisleydi Velazco managing an impressive 13.78m, Nacheva&rsquo;s winning margin was a whopping 37 centimetres.
Nacheva opened with a foul, then powered down the runway with the benefit of a mild breeze behind her (1.6m/s) and sailed out to 14.18m. That was a world U20 lead, the kind of jump no one in the field had ever approached, so from there the competition, as a contest, was essentially over.
Knowing gold was secure, Nacheva passed her final three attempts to seal a memorable victory ahead of Santos and Velazco. 
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Aleksandra Nacheva of Bulgaria jumps to triple jump gold at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
&nbsp;
&ldquo;I didn't know where this result came from, it just came on its own,&rdquo; said Nacheva. &ldquo;It feels absolutely amazing to win the gold; this was the only medal for my country at these championships so I'm really happy to make my country proud.&rdquo;
While that event may have gone to form, the men&rsquo;s discus final did anything but, Jamaica&rsquo;s Kai Chang causing a huge upset by taking gold in 62.36m.
All eyes had been on reigning champion and world U20 leader Mohamed Ibrahim Moaaz from Qatar, but after scraping through to the final with his third throw in qualifying, he could only finish fifth in the final with 59.87m.
&ldquo;I hope my performance can help Jamaican discus throwing get a lot more recognition, as it's lacking there at the moment, so I hope I can motivate others to get involved,&rdquo; said Chang.
Belarus&rsquo;s Yauheni Bahutski took silver with a best of 61.75m, while Chile&rsquo;s Claudio Romero set a season&rsquo;s best of 60.81m with his first-round throw to ensure a surprise bronze medal.
In the women&rsquo;s high jump, the surprises continued, not so much in the presence of Karyna Taranda of Belarus and Colombia&rsquo;s Maria Fernanda Murillo at the head of the standings, but that it became a three-way battle when Ireland&rsquo;s Sommer Lecky jumped into medal contention.
Lecky had come into the event with a lifetime best of 1.86m, but she soared into medal contention with a clearance at 1.90m.
Taranda also got over it on her first try to take the overall lead, while Murillo cleared it on her second attempt to equal her own South American U20 record.
They were then confirmed as the three medallists, but the order had yet to be decided.
Taranda was the only athlete to clear 1.92m, and though Lecky and Murillo both came close on their final attempts they were ultimately unsuccessful.
It meant Taranda was confirmed as the gold medallist with Lecky taking silver and Murillo bronze. It was the first time since 2004 that all three medallists jumped 1.90m or higher.
It made Taranda the first Belarusian winner of the women&rsquo;s high jump at the World U20 Championships, while back in second Lecky claimed Ireland&rsquo;s second silver medal in the space of 24 hours, this from a nation that had won just two in the 16 previous editions of the championships.
Kenya topped the medal table with six golds, with Jamaica second and USA third. Overall, USA had by far the most medals with a tally of 18 and they were clear leaders on the placings table.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

In a week where nothing seemed certain, this was the only fitting conclusion – a dropped baton, a race filled with captivating, climactic chaos, the favourites beaten, the underdogs rising, and gold going to Italy.

Italy’s surprise 4x400m gold a fitting end to IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

For a championships that had been full of exciting finishes and surprise medallists, the men&rsquo;s 4x400m was a fitting final event.
The USA had won all but two of the men&rsquo;s 4x400m titles across the past 16 editions of the World U20 Championships. Jamaica had been touted as the pre-championships favourites, but a disqualification in the heats for a lane infringement meant they were non-starters in the final, making the USA the outstanding favourite.
But a botched exchange on the first changeover meant the US team was playing catch-up for the remainder of the race. They eventually managed to chase down six of the other seven teams, but were unable to catch Italy, who were clear winners in 3:04.05.
USA got off to a strong start with Elija Godwin covering the first leg in 45.50, but as he went to hand over to teammate Nicholas Ramey, the baton fell to the floor. It meant Great Britain emerged from the break as the early leaders with France close behind.
Individual 400m winner Jonathan Sacoor put Belgium into the lead on the second leg while 800m specialist Andrea Romani moved Italy into second place ahead of Britain and France.
USA&rsquo;s Ramey tried hard to make up lost ground on the second leg, but went off too hard and eventually faded on the home straight, handing over in fifth place.
Belgium&rsquo;s lead was short lived as Italy&rsquo;s Alessandro Sibilio and Britain&rsquo;s Alastair Chalmers moved into first and second on the back straight of the third leg. Justin Robinson managed to get USA into third place but Italy went into the final leg with an eight-metre lead.
Italy&rsquo;s Eduardo Scotti, who finished fourth in the individual 400m final, was away and clear on the anchor leg. USA&rsquo;s Howard Fields ran a better-timed effort than his teammates on the second and third legs, waiting until the final 120 metres to make his move on Britain&rsquo;s 400m hurdler Sam Knibbs.
Fields passed Knibbs as the pair entered the home straight, but there was no catching Scotti, who crossed the line in 3:04.05 to win by more than a second. USA took silver in 3:05.26 with Britain getting the bronze in 3:05.64.
Further behind, France finished fourth in 3:06.65, 0.4 ahead of Belgium.
Not only did Italy win their first global 4x400m title at any level, they also became the first European team to win the men&rsquo;s 4x400m at the World U20 Championships. Their last global medal in the men&rsquo;s 4x400m came at the 1980 Olympic Games, but their time from that race &ndash; 3:04.54 &ndash; was slower than the U20 team&rsquo;s time in Tampere.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

For a championships that had been full of exciting finishes and surprise medallists, the men’s 4x400m was a fitting final event.

Report: men’s 4x400m – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

As expected, the United States cruised to its ninth straight women's U20 championship in the 4x400m relay, winning by more than two seconds over Australia in 3:28.74.
It was a fairly decisive, and --more to the point-- important victory for the USA, historically by far the winningest nation at these championships, whose few triumphs here in Tampere this week kept the Star Spangled Banner well off of regular rotation on the stadium's playlist.
Symone Mason handed Shae Anderson a two-step lead at the first exchange, with Australian second leg Cara Jardine following closely and Jamaica's Stacy-Ann Williams a distant third. The latter made up significant ground in the Australian, moving briefly into second before being retaken by Jardine as the leaders approached the third exchange.
Running third leg for USA, Julie Madubuike extended the quartet's lead, while behind her, the tussle for second was a tight one, with Jamaican Shiann Salmon, who raced to 400m hurdles silver two nights ago, moving into second as she entered the back straight. She ate up more ground on the US athlete, running almost even before handing off to 16-year-old anchor Colisha Taylor.
But there was no catching US anchor Taylor Manson, the 400m bronze medallist, who knocked off the last lap in just over 51 seconds to secure the victory. That didn't mean Taylor didn't try. Running hard for some 300 metres, she made up much of the gap, but ran out of steam as she headed into the home stretch. First she was run down by Australian anchor Carly Thomas, second to reach the line in 3:31.36, and nearly by Canada, but she held her ground long enough to secure bronze for Jamaica in 3:31.90.
Canada clocked 3:31.93, a national U20 record.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

As expected, the United States cruised to its ninth straight women's U20 championship in the 4x400m relay, winning by more than two seconds over Australia in 3:28.74.

Report: women’s 4x400m – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

On a week where age proved no barrier to sheer, unbridled brilliance, Bulgaria&rsquo;s Aleksandra Nacheva unveiled a stunning leap in the second round of the triple jump to take her nation&rsquo;s first ever medal in the event: gold.
Despite Brazil&rsquo;s Mirieli Santos producing a breakthrough effort of 13.81m and Cuba&rsquo;s Davisleydi Velazco an impressive 13.78m, Nacheva&rsquo;s winning margin was a whopping 37cm, indicative of an athlete with the ability to go as far as she dares to dream.
Nacheva was a silver medallist in the World U18 Championships last year and since then, her star has only ascended, the 16-year-old soaring over the 14-metre barrier for the first time last month.
She came to Tampere off the back of a surprising defeat at the European U18 Championships in Gyor, but it became clear early in Sunday afternoon&rsquo;s final that the loss would be avenged in a big way.
Nacheva opened with a foul, then powered down the runway with the benefit of a mild breeze behind her (+1.6m/s) and sailed out to 14.18m.
That was a world U20 lead, the kind of jump no one in the field had ever approached, so from there the competition, as a contest, was essentially over.
Santos, however, tried her best to change that, the Brazilian leaping a PB of 13.81m in the fifth round to rocket up the standings to second.
Velazco, the athlete most tipped to challenge Nacheva, opened the competition in promising fashion with two jumps of 13.53m and 13.78m to seize the early lead but try as she might, she couldn&rsquo;t improve on that in the rounds that followed.
Knowing gold was secure, Nacheva passed her final three attempts to seal a memorable victory.
&ldquo;I didn't know where this result came from, it just came on its own,&rdquo; said Nacheva. &ldquo;It feels absolutely amazing to win the gold, this was the only medal for my country at these championships so I'm really happy to make my country proud.&rdquo;
Santos was equally pleased with silver, aware she had come up against a virtually unbeatable athlete.
&ldquo;The silver is a good achievement,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I'm really happy with my performance.&rdquo;
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF
&nbsp;

On a week where age proved no barrier to sheer, unbridled brilliance, Bulgaria’s Aleksandra Nacheva unveiled a stunning leap in the second round of the triple jump to take her nation’s first ever medal in the event: gold.

Report: women’s triple jump – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

To say the men&rsquo;s discus final at the IAAF World U20 Championships didn&rsquo;t go to form would be something of an understatement.
Reigning champion and world U20 leader Mohamed Ibrahim Moaaz from Qatar scraped through to the final with his third throw in qualifying and could only finish fifth in the final with 59.87m after starting with two no-throws.
Second on the world U20 lists Kristjan Ceh from Slovenia missed out on a place in the final altogether and Cyprus&rsquo; Georgios Koniarakis, who was in contention to win his country&rsquo;s first ever medal in World U20 Championships history, was seventh with 58.04m. Fifth-ranked Emanuel Sousa from Portugal also no-marked in the final.&nbsp;
The title instead went to Jamaica courtesy of their second string discus thrower Kai Chang who was beaten by teammate Roje Stona at both his domestic championships and the Carifta Games. He was the fourth best thrower in qualifying with 59.27m and extended his lifetime best in the second round of the final from 61.79m to 62.36m which remained unchallenged as the leading throw.
Jamaica is becoming an emerging force in the discus with Commonwealth champion Fedrick Dacres leading the world lists with 69.67m. Chang hopes his performance will help to bring the event into the limelight in his sprint-loving country. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
&ldquo;I hope my performance can help Jamaican discus throwing get a lot more recognition, as it's lacking there at the moment, so I hope I can motivate others to get involved,&rdquo; he said.
Belarus&rsquo; Yauheni Bahutski threw 61.31m in the second round before consolidating his position in the fourth round with 61.75m while Chile&rsquo;s reigning world U18 champion Claudio Romero set a season&rsquo;s best of 60.81m with his first round throw to ensure bronze.
Romero has been nearly four metres down on his best form this season and wasn&rsquo;t in the medal discussion prior to the event but the Chilean, who celebrated his 18th birthday on the first day of the championships, performed when it mattered. &nbsp;
&ldquo;This was a very big accomplishment for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I had an injury this year that kept me from throwing for four months. I'm not happy with the throw but I'm happy with the position. Tampere has been such a great place, the crowd has been amazing. Next up is the South American Under-23 Championships.&rdquo;
Romero picks up only Chile&rsquo;s third medal in World U20 Championships history after Manuel Balmaceda&rsquo;s silver medal in the 800m in 1986 and Natalia Duco&rsquo;s gold medal in the shot put in 2008.
On his international championship debut, Martynas Alekna - son of former world, Olympic and European discus champion Virgilijus - was 10th with 57.30m.
Steven Mills for the IAAF&nbsp;

To say the men’s discus final at the IAAF World U20 Championships didn’t go to form would be something of an understatement.

Report: men’s discus – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

The expected high jump duel between Karyna Taranda of Belarus and Maria Fernanda Murillo became a three-way battle when Ireland&rsquo;s Sommer Lecky jumped into medal contention.
Taranda and Murillo went to Tampere with season&rsquo;s bests of 1.90m, the best of the field. Lecky, who was considered an outside chance of a medal, added four centimetres to her championship best to split the two favourites.
Taranda ultimately came away with the title, setting a PB of 1.92m. Murillo, meanwhile, took the bronze medal behind Lecky, both ending with bests of 1.90m.
Ten of the 12 finalists were still active as the bar moved up to 1.87m. Cuba&rsquo;s Isis Guerra was the first to go clear at that height, maintaining her clean scorecard. Taranda and Murillo also got over it on their first try. Murillo, who had no failures up until that point, shared the lead with Guerra, while Taranda was in third, having failed once at her opening height of 1.75m.
Lecky, Lithuania&rsquo;s Urte Baikstyte and Mariya Kochanova needed two attempts to negotiate 1.87m while Maja Helena Nilsson got over it on her third try, leaving seven women in the competition.
Lecky, who had already added a centimetre to her own Irish U20 record by clearing the previous height, set another lifetime best by clearing 1.90m on her first height. Taranda also got over it on her first try to take the overall lead, while Murillo cleared it on her second attempt to equal her own South American U20 record.
The four other remaining finalists were unable to clear 1.90m, meaning the three medallists had been decided. The only remaining question was whether the finishing order would change as the bar moved to 1.92m.
Taranda was the only athlete to clear 1.92m. Lecky and Murillo both came close on their final attempts but were ultimately unsuccessful. It meant Taranda was confirmed as the gold medallist with Lecky taking silver and Murillo bronze. It was the first time since 2004 that all three medallists jumped 1.90m or higher.
Taranda had the bar moved up to 1.95m but didn&rsquo;t manage to clear it. Nevertheless, she was happy to become the first Belarusian winner of the women&rsquo;s high jump at the World U20 Championships.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

The expected high jump duel between Karyna Taranda of Belarus and Maria Fernanda Murillo became a three-way battle when Ireland’s Sommer Lecky jumped into medal contention.

Report: women’s high jump – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

With a run that required speed, stamina and a sheer sense of self-belief, Solomon Lekuta of Kenya secured his nation their third consecutive gold medal in the men&rsquo;s 800m at the IAAF World U20 Championships.
&ldquo;I'm really happy with the gold medal but the competition was really hot because everyone wanted it too,&rdquo; said Lekuta. &ldquo;I've been training for this championship for a long time and I want to dedicate the gold medal to my parents.&rdquo;
Taking the lead from the gun, Lekuta blitzed through the opening 200m in 25 seconds and steadied things slightly from there, passing 400m just behind Ethiopia&rsquo;s Adisu Girma, who passed through in 52.17 with a horde of athletes stalking his footsteps close behind.
Britain&rsquo;s Markhim Lonsdale came to grief just before the bell, a collision of legs immediately ending his medal hopes as he crashed to the track.
Down the back straight, Girma continued to turn the screw on those behind, with the second Kenyan, Ngeno Kipngetich, appearing best poised to launch a strike for gold along with Algeria&rsquo;s Oussama Cherrad.
Halfway down the home straight it seemed Kipngetich&rsquo;s move would be successful, the Kenyan hitting the front and drawing away from Girma, but soon he had unwanted company in the form of Lekuta, back from the dead, who came charging down the outside.
Lekuta had just enough left in his legs to carry himself to the lead as the line approached, and he crossed in 1:46.35. Kipngetich came home just behind in 1:46.45 to seal Kenya&rsquo;s third successive one-two in the event.
&ldquo;The last 200 metres were so tough,&rdquo; said Kipngetich. &ldquo;I feel proud I could bring the silver medal to my country. Overall, Kenya had a great race - two medals.&rdquo;
Algeria&rsquo;s Oussama Cherrad held on for bronze, or so it seemed.
Approaching the finish, Cherrad had moved wide to halt the run of Belgium&rsquo;s Eliott Crestan, a move which got him disqualified and upgraded Crestan to bronze in 1:47.27.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Girma faded close to home and could only finish fourth in 1:47.58.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

With a run that required speed, stamina and a sheer sense of self-belief, Solomon Lekuta of Kenya secured his nation their third consecutive gold medal in the men’s 800m at the IAAF World U20 Championships.

Report: men’s 800m – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

With a long and sustained run from the bell, Alemaz Samuel Teshale became the third successive Ethiopian winner of the women&rsquo;s 1500m at the IAAF World U20 Championships.
On a blisteringly hot afternoon for the final session of the championships, Samuel covered the last lap of a tactical encounter in 61.04 to win the title in 4:09.67, finishing more than a second ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Miriam Cherop in 4:10.73.
Samuel was by far the fastest on paper with a lifetime best of 4:01.78 from the IAAF Diamond League meeting in Doha in May, but she was surprisingly beaten at the Ethiopian U20 Championships by Dinke Firdisa. There were high hopes of a third successive Ethiopian 1-2 but Firdisa, the second fastest on paper with 4:09.68, fell out of contention on the last lap and faded to sixth in 4:17.42.
But the plaudits in Tampere went to Samuel who now has her sights set on donning the Ethiopian vest in senior competition next year.
&ldquo;It was a slow race &ndash; it was very easy for me. I was expecting a hard race,&rdquo; said Samuel, who turned 19 the week before the championships. &ldquo;I felt brave and I&rsquo;m very proud of Ethiopia winning today. Next my aim is to further improve to run at senior level at the IAAF World Championships in Doha next year.&rdquo;
After taking silver in her final season in the U20 ranks, Cherop now harbours aspirations of making the Kenyan senior team for the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark next March.
Delia Sclabas replicated her finishing position from the 800m by taking bronze in 4:11.98. The Swiss teenager will now target next month&rsquo;s European Championships in Berlin full of confidence after earning her second medal of the championships.
Sclabas tore the tightly bunched field asunder with a hard burst with two laps remaining. Sclabas was mostly responsible for a lap of 63.37 from 800m through to 1200m and while she couldn&rsquo;t match Samuel in the last 300 metres, Sclabas was safe in third place, nearly three seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher Mariana Machado from Portugal in 4:14.93.
&ldquo;I was seeded fifth coming into the final but I knew I could get a medal,&rdquo; said Sclabas, who won the European U20 title over 3000m last year &ndash; a title which she is eligible to defend next year.
&ldquo;I had to push hard in the race and show my best &ndash; this has been a great championships for me which is a big motivation to hopefully improve for next year.&rdquo;
Steven Mills for the IAAF

With a long and sustained run from the bell, Alemaz Samuel Teshale became the third successive Ethiopian winner of the women’s 1500m at the IAAF World U20 Championships. 

Report: women’s 1500m – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

For the first time since these championships' inauguration in 1986, the winner of the men's steeplechase is not from Kenya.
Then, it was Spaniard Juan Azkueta who took a confortable one-second victory over a Kenyan rival, but here it took a fierce homestretch battle between Takele Nigate of Ethiopia and Kenyan Leonard Bett before the Ethiopian would wrestle away Kenya's reign in the event after 15 consecutive editions.
"This is my first international competition and I'm very happy," said the unheralded 18-year-old who arrived in Tampere with a modest 8:35.53 season's best. "My plan was to kick with 100 metres to go. I was pleased to snatch the gold medal in the final second."
He executed that plan to the proverbial 'T', making his move for the lead and the win off the final hurdle. But he was close to the front from the outset, shadowing early leaders Bett and Ugandan Albert Chemutai, an 18-year-old who is already a regular fixture on the IAAF Diamond League circuit.
Bett did most of that early leading, heading a quartet that also included the second Ethiopian Getnet Wale, who took to the front at the bell, with Chemutai, Bett and Nigate following, nearly single file.
Bett was the first to attack over the final lap, trying to secure the lead with just over 200 metres to go but Wale held him off as the four headed towards the water jump for the final time.
But the order didn't shift much until the final barrier, where Nigate made his decisive move to take command. But Bett fought on, leaving the pair entangled in a stride-for-fight scuffle over the final 50 metres. The battle wasn't over until the two dipped at the line with Nigate prevailing in 8:25.35, just 0.04 ahead of the Kenyan, surprisingly his country&rsquo;s only entrant in the event this year.
"I'm very happy with the silver medal but my main goal was to win the race," said the 17-year-old Bett, who took the World U18 title in the 2000m version of this event in Nairobi last year. "These championships along with last year's championships have given me a lot of confidence for the future."
But he was also keenly aware of the magnitude of Nigate's victory.
"I'm a bit bitter than the event normally dominated by the Kenyans went to Ethiopia," Bett said.
Wale took bronze in 8:26.16, equalling his finish from two years ago. He now accounts for half off the medals Ethiopia has won in the event at the U20 championships.&nbsp;
Rounding out the final four was Chemutai who clocked 8:28.63. Such was their dominance that the next finisher, Takumi Yoshida of Japan, didn't reach the line until more than 22 seconds later.
Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

For the first time since these championships' inauguration in 1986, the winner of the men's steeplechase is not from Kenya.

Report: men’s 3000m steeplechase – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

Sprint hurdler Tia Jones won the USA&rsquo;s first individual gold medal of the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 on the sixth and final day of competition &ndash; but only just.
Jones, 17, was blistering out of the blocks and her rhythm did not seem unduly blighted by the fact she clipped two flights of hurdles at considerable speed, although she acknowledged after the race that her final was not her cleanest race of the contest. Not that it mattered in the end as Jones became the fifth US winner of the 100m hurdles title since 2004.
The bronze medallist from two years ago still had a tangible lead off the final flight of barriers but she was being closed down quickly by Jamaica's Brittany Anderson who set a lifetime best of 13.10 in the semifinal.
Jones crossed the finish line with her arms aloft in celebration but Anderson, who was drawn on her immediate outside, was by far the strongest off the final hurdle. They shared an identical time of 13.01 and even though their time down to the thousandths was also the same, the judges could just about separate them on the photo finish.
"It was a very tight race, it was nice to get the win but I hoped for a better time. I hit a couple of hurdles in the middle of the race," said Jones, who ran faster two years ago to finish third, although that final in Bydgoszcz did have a 2.0m/s tailwind. "My preliminary run was the best run here."
Anderson won the world U18 title last year and at 17, she will still be eligible for the World U20 Championships in 2020 by virtue of a January 2001 birthdate. She also knows what she needs to work on between then and now.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m feeling great to be the silver medallist and I am really grateful for everything, especially running a PB,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I need to keep working on my start more in order to win gold next time.&rdquo;
Cortney Jones was a comfortable bronze medallist in 13.19 but injured herself on crossing the line and had to be helped up on to the podium to receive her medal.
France&rsquo;s Sacha Alessandrini was fourth in a 13.34 while her teammate Cyrena Samba-Mayela, whose coach Ladji Doucoure won the world 110m hurdles title in Helsinki back in 2005, was eighth in 14.11.
Steven Mills for the IAAF

Sprint hurdler Tia Jones won the USA’s first individual gold medal of the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 on the sixth and final day of competition – but only just.

Report: women’s 100m hurdles – IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018

The penultimate day of action at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 featured some of the biggest names in junior athletics, but the biggest talking point of the session came from a 16-year-old Jamaican girl.
Not just any 16-year-old, of course. Briana Williams had underlined her talent earlier in the week when winning the 100m title from world U20 leader Twanisha Terry. The 200m was considered to be very much her secondary event, though, as she had never bettered 23 seconds and was up against a formidable US duo.
Drawn in lane three, Williams darted around the bend and had a marginal lead on USA&rsquo;s Lauren Rain Williams as they entered the straight. Showing no signs of fatigue in her sixth race in four days, she then extended her lead in the second half of the race and crossed the line in a championship record of 22.50.
Rain Williams finished a distant second in 23.09 with Poland&rsquo;s Martyna Kotwila taking bronze in a PB of 23.21.
<h3>Championship records for Duplantis and Diaz</h3>
It is a measure of their calibre when Cuba&rsquo;s Jordan Diaz and Sweden&rsquo;s Armand Duplantis set championship records but are left feeling unsatisfied.
Both athletes went to Tampere as the overwhelming favourites in their respective events &ndash; Diaz in the triple jump, Duplantis in the pole vault &ndash; but they had also hoped to challenge the world U20 records.
The jumping duo were competing at the same time and were as dominant as one another. Diaz led from the outset, jumping 16.84m and 16.91m before breaking the championship record with 17.15m in round three. After a big foul in the fourth round, he matched his winning distance in round five before ending with a foul.
France collected the other two triple jump medals. Martin Lamou picked up an injury during warm-up but got in a valid jump of 16.44m which proved to be enough for silver, while Jonathan Seremes took bronze with 16.18m.
Duplantis waited until the bar was at 5.50m before joining the pole vault final. A first-time clearance immediately gave him a share of the leading position with Germany&rsquo;s Bo Kanda Lita Baehre and USA&rsquo;s Zachery Bradford. 
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Armand Duplantis in the pole vault at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
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Five men were still left in the competition as the bar moved to 5.60m, but Duplantis was the only one to get over it, doing so on his first try. He then sailed clear at 5.82m to smash the championship record of 5.71m set 12 years ago and ended his series with three unsuccessful tries at 6.01m.
Bradford and Japan&rsquo;s Masaki Ejima, who both cleared 5.55m, took silver and bronze respectively.
<h3>Gold for Zakayo and Zazini</h3>
Edward Zakayo gained revenge on the man who pipped him to 3000m gold at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Selemon Barega, in a thrilling 5000m contest.
It didn&rsquo;t take long for a lead pack to emerge. Zakayo and Barega ran alongside Kenya&rsquo;s Stanley Waithaka, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Telahun Bekele and Uganda&rsquo;s Jacob Kiplimo as they passed 3000 metres in 8:06.70. Norway&rsquo;s Jakob Ingebrigtsen managed to detach himself from the chase pack and caught up with the leaders with about four laps to go.
The lead group bided their time for a few more laps, but as the bell sounded it looked as though Ingebrigtsen was poised to out-kick Barega and Waithaka. All of the medal contenders had to weave in and out of several lapped runners, but it was Zakayo who proved to have the best kick as he sped past Barega, Ingebrigtsen and Waithaka to take gold in 13:20.16.
Waithaka made it a Kenyan 1-2 with 13:20.57, while Ingebrigtsen took bronze with a PB of 13:20.78, breaking the European U20 record that had stood to Steve Binns since 1979. 
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Edward Zakayo wins the 5000m at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
&nbsp;
Sokwakhana Zazini became the fourth reigning world U18 champion to win gold in Tampere, but his victory here in the 400m hurdles was a completely different race to the one he won in Nairobi last year when taking his first global title.
The South African won by almost three seconds in the Kenyan capital last year. Here in Tampere, however, little more than half a second separated the first four men across the line.
Zazini had a slight lead over Qatar&rsquo;s Bassem Hemeida as they negotiated the final two barriers and he scrapped his way to the finish line to win in 49.42, his fastest time at sea level.
Hemeida was rewarded with a PB of 49.59 to take the silver medal. Brazil&rsquo;s Alison Santos, fifth in Nairobi last year, was a lot closer to Zazini this time and claimed the bronze medal with a PB of 49.78.
<h3>Gold at last for USA</h3>
They had to wait until the last event of the penultimate day of action, but USA finally won their first gold medal of the championships by winning the men&rsquo;s 4x100m.
After numerous other gold medal hopes had fallen by the wayside earlier in the championships, the US quartet of Eric Harrison, Anthony Schwartz, Austin Kratz and Micah Williams got the baton safely around to stop the clock at 38.88. Fellow sprint powerhouse Jamaica claimed silver with 38.96, while Germany pipped Japan on the line to take bronze 39.22 to 39.23.
USA and Jamaica had failed to reach the final of the women&rsquo;s event, but the race wasn&rsquo;t lacking in excitement. One year after breaking the world U20 record, Germany won their first world U20 title in the women&rsquo;s 4x100m since 2000, clocking 43.82.
Ireland won their third ever World U20 Championships medal by taking silver in a national U20 record of 43.90 while Britain got the bronze with 44.05.
<h3>From Taicang triumphs to Tampere titles</h3>
Both of the U20 winners from the IAAF World Race Walking Team Championships Taicang 2018 ended up taking gold medals in the 10,000m race walk events in Tampere.
After covering 25 laps of the track in uncomfortably warm conditions, just six thousandths of a second separated the top two finishers at the end of the men&rsquo;s event. World U18 champion Zhang Yao, who also won in Taicang, looked well on his way to pick up a third global title, but Ecuador&rsquo;s David Hurtado produced an inspired effort down the final home straight and crossed the line level with Zhang. 
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Zhang Yao and David Hurtado in the 10,000m race walk at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
&nbsp;
After a couple of minutes, it was finally confirmed that Zhang had won the title in 40:32.06. Hurtado was given the same time in second place, but just six thousandths of a second separated them in the photo finish.
Guatemala&rsquo;s Jose Ortiz took bronze with 40:45.06 as all three medallists were rewarded with PBs.
In the women&rsquo;s race, the same three medallists from Taicang filled the podium and in the same order.
Mexico's Alegna Gonzalez stayed away from the lead until the final 600 metres but the 19-year-old timed her effort brilliantly, pulling away from Ecuador's Glenda Morejon and Turkey's Meryem Bekmez to win her second major title of the season in a world U20 leading time of 44:13.88.
Bekmez was second in 44:17.69 with world U18 champion Morejon taking bronze in 44:19.40.
<h3>Historic titles for Nash and Rogers, shared gold in high jump</h3>
Nash Lowis won Australia&rsquo;s first world U20 title in a men&rsquo;s throwing event, while Camryn Rogers became the first Canadian woman to win a world U20 title.
Lowis&rsquo;s third-round throw of 73.47m gave him a three-centimetre lead over Germany&rsquo;s Maurice Voigt. He then added a metre to the lifetime best he set in the qualifying round, throwing 75.31m in round five to extend his lead.
Tzuriel Pedigo displaced Voigt as the silver medallist, throwing a PB of 73.76m in the final round to become USA&rsquo;s first ever medallist in the men&rsquo;s javelin at the World U20 Championships.
Rogers&rsquo; opening effort of 64.90m remained the top mark of the hammer final, but it also ended up being the closest women&rsquo;s hammer competition in World U20 Championships history with just 1.08m separating the three medallists.
USA&rsquo;s Alyssa Wilson, the world U20 leader, went into the hammer with hopes of salvaging a medal of any colour, having fouled out of the shot put final and finished a distant 10th in the discus. She threw 64.14m in round two to move into second place and apply pressure on Rogers.
Rogers didn&rsquo;t improve with her remaining attempts but consistently landed her hammer close to the 65-metre line. Cuba&rsquo;s world U18 silver medallist Yaritza Martinez threw 63.82m to take bronze.
Two gold medals were awarded in the high jump as Greece&rsquo;s Antonios Merlos and Mexico's world U20 leader Roberto Vilches couldn't be separated on countback after they both cleared 2.23m on their first attempts. 
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Antonios Merlos and Roberto Vilches celebrate winning joint gold in the high jump at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018</div>
&nbsp;
A jump-off was an option but the two protagonists embraced each other warmly and were more than happy to split the spoils.
There was also a tie for the bronze medal between South Africa's world U18 champion Breyton Poole and USA&rsquo;s JuVaughn Blake. They both cleared 2.23m but on their second attempts.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

The penultimate day of action at the IAAF World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 featured some of the biggest names in junior athletics, but the biggest talking point of the session came from a 16-year-old Jamaican girl.

Williams secures sprint double on super Saturday in Tampere

It took until the final event on the penultimate day of the World U20 Championships Tampere 2018 for the United States to win their first gold medal but after missing out on individual titles in the 100m and 200m, their sprinters combined superbly to win the 4x100m title for the sixth successive time.
Four teams were still in title contention at the final changeover but Micah Williams maintained the United States&rsquo; slender lead, holding off Jamaica&rsquo;s Michael Stephens in the process with notable times for both teams. Led off by double bronze medallist Eric Harrison, the United States set a world U20 leading mark of 38.88 with Jamaica, whose team also included world U20 400m silver medallist Christopher Taylor on the second leg, lowering the national U20 record to 38.96.
United States have now won the 4x100m relay title at each edition of the World U20 Championships since Bydgoszcz a decade ago but Japan&rsquo;s run of medals narrowly came to an end. The silver medallists from two years ago --and ever-presents on the podium since Barcelona in 2012-- just missed out on the bronze medal with Luis Bradner from Germany getting it on the dip, 39.22 to 39.23, also replicating their bronze medal-winning performance from 2016.
Fellow heat winners Italy came to grief on the first handover between Francesco Libera and Lorenzo Paissan and were the only country who didn't finish.
Steven Mills for the IAAF

WORLD ATHLETICS U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS

Sacoor taking patient approach in following footsteps of his idols

Silver in Tampere felt like – and nearly was – gold for Hurtado

Merlos and Vilches: 11,000 kilometres apart, but inseparable in Tampere

Ten memorable moments from Tampere

Keeping relaxed is key to world U20 discus champion Emilianov