Bayanda Walaza on his way to the world U20 200m title in Lima (© Oscar Munoz Badilla)
Track action from the fourth afternoon of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 was highlighted by the completion of an epic sprints double for phenom Bayanda Walaza on Friday (30).
The South African sprinting sensation tonight added a win in the men’s 200m to his title in the 100m from earlier in the week. Walaza simply exploded out of the blocks and the high-quality start ensured he could not be caught by his competitors, finishing in 20.52 (-0.7m/s).
Australia’s Gout Gout did make a gallant effort to close the gap and his hard-charging finish earned him the silver in a PB of 20.60. The 16-year-old broke his own area U18 best and national U18 record with the time. Jake Odey-Jordan of Great Britain took the bronze in 20.81.
Walaza formed part of South Africa’s silver medal-winning 4x100m team at the Olympics in Paris and two other Olympians were expected to vie for the title in the women’s 200m, with Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands and Torrie Lewis of Australia bringing to Lima their experience from the 200m semifinals in Paris. In the end, it was Hodge who took the title in 22.74 (0.0m/s), upgrading her silver medal from the 100m earlier in these championships.
Hodge got out of the starting blocks well and ran a strong curve, with Lewis challenging her off the curve and well into the homestretch. Hodge, however, had superior strength over the last 25 metres and moved clear of the field to earn her first global U20 gold.
Lewis was rewarded for her effort with the silver medal and a PB of 22.88. Jamaica’s Shanoya Mikalia Douglas, who came into the competition with the fastest season’s best of 22.59, was third in 23.10.
After an impressive 13.11 semifinal performance, all eyes were on Ja’Kobe Tharp of the US in the men’s 110m hurdles final. Tharp exceeded all expectations, taking the win while delivering a 13.05 (-0.5m/s) lifetime best, a national U20 record over the 99cm hurdles, and a world U20 lead.
“I knew to get the gold medal means my time was going to have to be faster and I came out and did that; that's all I wanted,” said Tharp.
Tharp is the first US athlete in eight years to earn the global U20 crown. The accomplishment completes an historic season as earlier this year he broke the area U20 record over senior height 110m hurdles and was second at the NCAA Championships.
Andre Korbmacher arguably had a stronger start than his US compatriot, which helped him to earn the silver in a PB of 13.14. The 1-2 punch strengthened the US position at the top of the medal table. Chen Yuanjiang of China recorded a national U20 record of 13.21 to place third.
Kerrica Hill of Jamaica successfully defended her 2022 title from Cali by winning the women’s 100m hurdles final in 12.99 (-0.3m/s). Hill had a strong start and never looked back; in fact, she comfortably led each round of competition and was the only athlete to break 13 seconds during these championships.
“It feels good to win and, as I said before, I came here to run my own race,” said Hill.
Croatia’s Mia Wild was second in 13.15, giving her PB of 13.10 a good scare. Delta Amidzovski extended her extraordinary meet, earning bronze in 13.24 after taking gold in the women’s long jump earlier in the week. Amidzovski was just 20th on the descending order list of season’s bests coming in to Lima but executed well on the day to secure her podium spot.
Kenya’s Sarah Moraa controlled the women’s 800m final from early on and held on strongly to win in an impressive 2:00.36. The title caps off a tremendous season for Moraa, who was third at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in June. Moraa is the cousin of world champion Mary Moraa, who herself was fifth at the 2018 World U20 Championships.
Australia’s Claudia Hollingsworth made a valiant attempt to pass Moraa in the final homestretch but Moraa was able to find another gear to surge to the finish line first. Hollingsworth, who came in with the fastest PB in the field (1:58.40) and was a semifinalist at the Paris Olympic Games, had to settle for silver in 2:00.36. Sophia Gorriaran of the US rounded out the podium, earning bronze in 2:01.04.
Though the men’s 800m final was quick, it still came down to a kick on the homestretch, with General Berhanu Ayansa of Ethiopia emerging on top in a winning time of 1:46.86. Ayansa came into the competition with just the fourth-best personal best (1:45.45) but was patient over the course of the race and timed his finish to perfection to take the gold.
Australia’s Peyton Craig arrived in Lima as the favourite, with the swiftest PB, the Oceanian U20 record and a semifinals appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris to his name. Despite a long season, he accelerated well towards the conclusion of the race and ended up in second in 1:46.95. Ko Ochiai of Japan, the Asian U20 champion and national U20 record-holder, was third in 1:47.03.
Ethiopia’s Aleshign Baweke won the women’s 3000m in 8:50.32. Though Ethiopia hadn’t won the women’s 3000m at the U20 Championships since 2016, the country was expected to take the crown in Lima as their entrants led the field on PBs and season’s bests by a significant margin.
Marion Jepnegetich of Kenya, who had led the final for much of the race, was passed in the final 200 metres by Baweke. The move was confident and emphatic, guaranteeing Baweke the top spot on the podium. Jepnegetich held on for silver in 8:52.37.
Marta Alemayo of Ethiopia took bronze in 8:53.64. The performance confirmed a two-medal haul in this event for her country and puts Ethiopia second overall on the medal table. Innes Fitzgerald of Great Britain finished outside of the podium, but still ran a PB 8:57.01 to take fourth.
In non-finals action, Michelle Smith of the Virgin Islands continued her campaign to become her country’s first world U20 champion. She led all qualifiers in the women’s 400m hurdles semifinals with her 56.39. She will be joined in the final by fellow heat winners Meta Tumba of France (56.79) and Jasmine Robinson of the US (57.37). France will have two women in the final after Candice von Plauen ran a PB 56.81 to finish just behind Smith in the second section.
A score of fast times highlighted the men’s 400m hurdles semifinals, where five competitors ran at or under 50 seconds. Antti Sainio of Finland won the second heat and led all qualifiers with his world U20 leading time of 49.36. Czechia’s Michal Rada crossed the line at the same time and was also credited with the world U20 lead. It was a PB and national U20 record for each athlete.
Both time qualifiers to the final came out of that same section, with Vance Nilsson of the US running 49.82 and Spain’s Joaquin Alonso running a national U20 record of 50.22. In the first heat, South Africa’s Njabulo Mbatha won the first heat in 49.90. Pushing Mbatha to the line in that section was Sam Lunt of Great Britain, who ran a national U20 record of 50.00. Jamaica’s Daniel Wright won the third and final heat in 51.11.
Jessi Gabriel for World Athletics
