India&rsquo;s young high jump sensation Pooja once again asserted that she is the best in the business by clinching gold during the four-day Asian U20 Championships, which concluded at the Kai Tak Youth Sports Ground in Hong Kong on Sunday (31).
On Friday (29), the 19-year-old surpassed Svetlana Radzivil&rsquo;s 20-year-old championship record on her second attempt by clearing 1.91m. She then soared over 1.93m without knocking the bar to set an Indian senior record. She also made a gallant attempt to get the Asian U20 record of 1.96m but was unsuccessful.
Pooja, the surprise Asian champion in Gumi last year, was raised in a humble farming family in India&rsquo;s Haryana State. Her first international title came in the Asian U18 Championships in Tashkent three years ago. In 2023, she also won silver at the Asian U20 Championships in Yecheon and bronze at the Commonwealth Youth Games in Port of Spain. She skipped the last edition of the Asian U20 event in Dubai two years ago.
Before heading to Hong Kong, Pooja cleared 1.90m in New Delhi in April.
&ldquo;When I looked at 1.93m, I remembered the times I trained back at home without mats and falling on the ground. Hence, clearing it brought me immense joy and relief,&rdquo; said Pooja, who added that she will target the Asian U20 record again during this year&rsquo;s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and Asian Games in Aichi-Nagoya.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Korea&rsquo;s Park Si-hoon won shot put gold with a record to boot. With a final hurrah in the U20 category, he surpassed Li Meng&rsquo;s 15-year-old Asian U20 record of 20.63m in the 6kg shot with a heave of 20.65m to complete his collection of medals with gold in Hong Kong.&nbsp;
In a fitting gesture to his father, who taught Park lifting exercises in the gym in Gumi, Park developed in the throwing arena as a promising shot putter.&nbsp;Like Pooja, Park won the Asian U18 title in Tashkent. He had a gradual upward lift on the podium, starting with a bronze in Yecheon in 2023 and a silver in Dubai in 2024 at the Asian U20 Championships.&nbsp;
The 19-year-old, who has already competed with the senior implement, intends to take part in the inaugural Asian U23 Championships in Ordos in July and has ambitions of throwing 21 metres one day.
<h2>United Arab Emirates sprinters shine with records</h2>
Suleiman Abdulrahman of United Arab Emirates surprised the Qatari duo of Khala Mahamat and Youssouf Djibrine as he ran 44.85 to win the 400m. His time eclipsed the championship record of 45.53 set by China&rsquo;s Ailixier Wumaier at the last edition two years ago. Mahamat also beat the previous record to get silver in 45.19.
A day later, Abdulrahman was part of the quartet that won the mixed 4x400m in a record time of 3:18.81.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;
With similar passion, Aminat Kamarudeen of United Arab Emirates also took two gold medals in the 400m and the mixed relay. She clocked a PB of 52.72 to win the individual event.&nbsp;
Abdul Quddus Ahmed Ali clinched men&rsquo;s 200m gold in 20.85 (-1.6m/s), while Mariam Kareem excelled in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles in 56.93.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Qatar&rsquo;s Mubarik Abdi Said halted the Japanese monopoly in the 3000m with a record-breaking effort of 7:56.08 to win the gold. The defending champion Mashiko Yota finished third. Said went on to claim his second gold by winning the 1500m in 3:44.40.
Championship records were set in three of the four hurdling events. China&rsquo;s 16-year-old Zhang Keyi triumphed in the 100m hurdles in 13.38 (0.4m/s). Japan&rsquo;s Jeremy Koga clocked 13.05 (-0.5m/s) in the 110m hurdles, while his compatriot Taiju Goto won the 400m hurdles, shaving 0.05 from Ismail Douda Abakar&rsquo;s 2023 mark of 49.30.
A total of 10 championship records, including one Asian U20 record, were bettered during the four-day competition. The final evening witnessed records in the 4x400m, with China (3:04.88) and India (3:38.07) taking gold in the men's and women's races, respectively.
China topped the medal tally for the 18th time in 21 editions with 14 gold, nine silver and two bronze medals. India (10-5-4) placed second and Japan (5-5-8) third.&nbsp;
Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s Taif will host the next edition of the championships in 2028.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

India’s Pooja clinched high jump gold during the four-day Asian U20 Championships

Pooja and Park steal the show at Asian U20 Championships in Hong Kong

Emmanuel Kiprono and Cynthia Chepkirui were among the rising stars who secured qualification for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 following the conclusion of the two-day Kenyan trials at Nyayo National Stadium on Friday and Saturday (22-23).
World U20 cross-country silver medallist Kiprono delivered a commanding performance in the men&rsquo;s 3000m on Friday, clocking 7:35.40 to book an automatic place at the global showpiece. Elkanah Sanutia finished second in 7:59.60, while Enock Tuitoek claimed third place.
&ldquo;I came to this race prepared,&rdquo; said 17-year-old Kiprono, who won the U20 3000m at the Kip Keino Classic last month. &ldquo;The pace was a bit slow, and I decided to push myself and eventually came out with a win.
&ldquo;I got a silver medal at the World Cross Country Championships, and I was not happy with it, so I&rsquo;ve worked really hard. I want to go to Oregon and come back home with a gold medal.&rdquo;
In the women&rsquo;s race, Faith Cherotich Rono produced a strong late surge to win in 8:58.22, holding off a spirited challenge from Mercy Mageso, who crossed the line second in 8:59.00 after finishing third in the 5000m on Friday. Venenza Chebet completed the podium in 9:03.69.
African U18 3000m champion Chepkirui dominated the women&rsquo;s 5000m to take victory in 15:24.40. African U20 3000m bronze medallist Joyline Chepkemoi finished second in 15:37.8, while Mageso completed an impressive double by securing third place in 15:54.8.
Chepkirui&rsquo;s win continues her steady improvement in a season that has already seen her place fourth in the U20 race at the World Cross Country Championships, third in the 5000m at the World Athletics Relays Trials, and ninth at the Addis Ababa Grand Prix.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a12d7701e6c239b4c55edef.jpeg" alt="Cynthia Chepkirui wins the 5000m ahead of Joyline Chepkemoi and Mercy Mageso in Nairobi" />
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Cynthia Chepkirui wins the 5000m ahead of Joyline Chepkemoi and Mercy Mageso in Nairobi (&copy; Sylvia Abigael Wafula)
&ldquo;When I go back to the camp, I will work on my speed,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m capable of winning a gold medal if I put in the work. My gold medal from Africa gives me the much-needed confidence to do well in Oregon.&rdquo;
The men&rsquo;s race witnessed a major upset as Andrew Alamisi, who won gold at the last edition of the World U20 Championships in Lima in 2024, was forced to settle for third in 13:51.33.
Nehemiah Kipngeno won the race in 13:41.16 ahead of Andrew Kiptoo Kiprop, who clocked 13:42.83.
The 3000m steeplechase events also delivered thrilling performances, African U18 champion Emmanuel Lemiso and African U20 champion Anatasha Cheptoo claiming top honours.
Lemiso impressed with a personal best of 8:35.30 to win the men&rsquo;s race, holding off Nicholas Losiwaren who finished second in 8:37.98, while Brian Kandie completed the podium in 8:45.24.
&ldquo;This victory is a huge motivating factor for me ahead of the World U20 Championships. After the Kip Keino Classic, I changed my diet and worked hard in training, especially clearing the water barriers,&rdquo; said Lemiso, who finished second at the Kip Keino Classic.
&ldquo;When we go to Eugene, I want to win a gold medal. I want to continue polishing my ability to clear the barriers smoothly.&rdquo;
Cheptoo produced a commanding display to win in 9:37.37, pulling off a notable upset in the process. Mercy Chepngeno, who is fresh from gaining silver at the African Championships, had to settle for second place in 9:47.40, while Abigael Kosgei completed the podium in 10:12.94.
&ldquo;I was exhausted coming into this race because I&rsquo;ve not rested well after the Africa Championships in Accra, but I gave my level best,&rdquo; said Chepngeno. &ldquo;Competing with the senior athletes in Accra was not easy, but the experience there was invaluable.&rdquo;
Josephine Sembeyo won the women&rsquo;s 1500m in 4:09.89, finishing ahead of Caren Chepchirchir (4:12.10) and Milcent Jeepkonga Kipykomen (4:17.84).
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a12d7d8dd1097be7bcf4ec4.jpeg" alt="Josephine Sembeyo in action at the Kenyan trials for the World U20 Championships" />
<div>
Josephine Sembeyo in action at the Kenyan trials for the World U20 Championships (&copy; Sylvia Abigael Wafula)
In the men&rsquo;s race, Wilson Chepkwech took victory in 3:40.88, with David Kapaiko placing second in 3:41.29 and Brivon Kiptoo Koech third in 3:43.20.
Nancy Chepngetich won the women&rsquo;s 800m in 2:00.18, while Nashon Pkiach claimed victory in the men&rsquo;s race in 1:46.17.
Nancy Kibet clocked 52.70 to win the 400m and she was closely followed by Judith Sapato, who secured second place in 53.88. Faith Kemunto Onserio was third (55.54).
Sylvia Abigael Wafula for World Athletics
<h3>Kenyan team for Oregon</h3>
 WOMEN
400m: Nancy Kibet, Judith Sepato 800m: Nancy Chepngetich, Nancy Kibet 1500m: Caren Chepchirchir, Josephine Sembeyo 3000m: Faith Cherotich Rono, Mercy Chepngeno 5000m: Joyline Chepkemoi, Cynthia Chepkirui 3000m steeplechase: Mercy Chepngeno, Anatasha Cheptoo
MEN
100m: Louis Khawel 800m: Nashon Pkiach, Collins Tentera 1500m: Wilson Chepkwech, David Kapaiko 3000m: Emmanuel Kiprono, Elkana Sanutia 5000m: Frankline Kibet, Nehemiah Kipngeno 3000m steeplechase: Emmanuel Lemiso, Nicholas Kitum
&nbsp;
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>

Emmanuel Kiprono and Cynthia Chepkirui were among the rising stars who secured qualification for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 following the conclusion of the two-day Kenyan trials

Kiprono and Chepkirui lead Kenyan charge to World U20 Championships after trials in Nairobi

World U20 silver medallists Gout Gout and Izobelle Louison-Roe have been named on Australia&rsquo;s team for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on 5-9 August.
With 75 athletes selected, it is set to be&nbsp;Australia&rsquo;s biggest team in the history of the global U20 event.
Gout secured 200m silver in Lima in 2024 and has gone on to become a world U20 record-breaker in the discipline, clocking 19.67 in Sydney in April.
The 18-year-old is entered for the 200m and the 4x400m in Oregon.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m really excited to get out there at World Athletics U20s in Eugene, Oregon,&rdquo; Gout told Australian Athletics.
&ldquo;I know it&rsquo;s a great stadium and place to run fast, and I feel confident I&rsquo;ll be ready to step up and make Australia proud. I&rsquo;ll be competing in the 200m but I&rsquo;m also excited to join in the 4x400m on the last day.&rdquo;
Louison-Roe&nbsp;also claimed silver in Lima, in the high jump. The 18-year-old, who cleared a PB of 1.95m in January and matched that mark in March, is entered for both the high jump and the triple jump and will decide which event she will contest closer to the competition.
Mason McGroder claimed long jump bronze in Lima and the 17-year-old also returns to the global stage.
Isaac Beacroft is another major medallist on the team. The 18-year-old won the U20 10km race walk at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya in 2024 and finished second in this year&rsquo;s event in Bras&iacute;lia. He also has experience of competing at the World U20 Championships as he finished fourth in the 10,000m race walk in Lima two years ago. In Oregon he will contest the 5000m race walk.
<h3>Australian team for Oregon:</h3>
WOMEN 100m:&nbsp;Zara Hagan, Maya Taber 200m: Zara Hagan, Amaya Mearns 400m: Alice Hill, Shari Hurdman 800m: Ivy Boothroyd,&nbsp;Emma Fryga 1500m: Mia Gray, Milla Roberts 3000m: Imogen Baker, Eliza Lawton 5000m: Imogen Baker, Libby Mantay 3000m steeplechase: Helena Butler, Tessa Ebert 100m hurdles: Jamison Harding, Tammin Lampret 400m hurdles: Shakira Harding, Maiya Hewitt 5000m race walk: Sophie Polkinghorne, Zoe Woods High jump: Izobelle Louison-Roe Pole vault: Jamison Harding, Rangi Khushnoor Long jump: Geena Davy Triple jump: Izobelle Louison-Roe Shot put: Manaia Coulter, Lauren Kelly Discus: Riley-Jay Henry-Purcell, Chelsy Wayne Heptathlon: Bailey Van Den Broek, Isabella Wing 4x100m: Grace Crowe,&nbsp;Mackenzie Estlick, Zara Hagan, Amaya Mearns, Leah O&rsquo;Brien, Thewbelle Philp,&nbsp;Emilia Reed,&nbsp;Maya Taber 4x400m: Samara Bond,&nbsp; Alice Hill, Shari Hurdman, Naomi Krajancic, Xanthee Watts, Charlotte McAuliffe
MEN 100m:&nbsp;Uwezo Lubenda, Zavier Peacock 200m: Gout Gout, Zavier Peacock&nbsp; 400m: Chase Grant, Seth Kennedy 800m:&nbsp;Harry Halleen, Daniel Williams 1500m: Alexander Cameron-Smith, Kieran Shepherd 3000m: Charles Barrett, Matthew McLachlan 5000m: Charles Barrett, Lucas Chis 3000m steeplechase: Jonathan Neethling 110m hurdles: Oliver Facer, Harrison Purcell 400m hurdles: Will Tait, Ethan Williams 5000m race walk: Isaac Beacroft, Owen Toyne Long jump: Mason McGroder, Luke Vrataric Triple jump: Lian Anagnostopoulos, Daniel Okerenyang Discus: Elijah Wilson Hammer: Connor Hopgood, Xavier Leauma Decathlon: Xavier Davie, Wyatt Hill 4x100m: Paul Ehioghae, Kelechi Ekwomadu, Dylan Hall, Josiah John, Hugh Kabengele, Uwezo Lubenda, Zavier Peacock 4x400m: Gout Gout, Chase Grant, Fred Hamblin, Seth Kennedy, Dashiell Muir, Dylan Ruming, Terrell Thorne

Gout Gout and Izobelle Louison-Roe have been named on Australia’s team for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on 5-9 August.

World U20 medallists Gout and Louison-Roe lead Australian team for Oregon

By Owen Murray
Two days before her 18th birthday, Jil Sanchez woke up excited in Finland.
She knew that, later that day, she&rsquo;d stand on the European stage at least once. If her 100m hurdles semifinal went well, she&rsquo;d stand there twice. Sanchez, now a Swiss international hurdler, is used to existing in front of an audience; before this life, she was a ballet and a hip-hop dancer, then a flautist and a pianist.
But she had to set arts aside when athletics clicked, and on the edge of 18, she toed the line in Tampere as the favorite in a European U20 final. She remembers the atmosphere.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s big,&rdquo; Sanchez said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s overwhelming. But I think it&rsquo;s cool because, especially in international competitions, you have your whole team &mdash; your whole country &mdash; behind your back.&rdquo;
When Sanchez is standing down there, tensed, she can dissect the roar. She knows her teammates are one pitch. She knows that part of it is her nation. She doesn&rsquo;t remember her races, but she has a word to describe the feeling in the blocks.
&ldquo;It&rsquo;s electrifying,&rdquo; she said.
Her final was run into a 1.5 m/s headwind, but Sanchez forged ahead. When she crossed the line in 13.24 seconds, the new European U20 champion covered her mouth in disbelief. The stage was hers.
Ahead of August&rsquo;s World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field, Sanchez is growing toward her next peak. She&rsquo;s combining music and movement as one of Europe&rsquo;s best young hurdlers, and as she returns from the injury that ended her 2025 outdoor season to chase a first world title, she&rsquo;s embracing the big stage.
Six months ago, Sanchez picked up a guitar for the first time. She grew up with music and dance &mdash;&nbsp;the ballet, the hip-hop, the street dancing classes were six years of her life. Now, she&rsquo;s teaching herself guitar.
&ldquo;I missed music,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I wanted to learn something new.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Electrifying&rdquo; isn&rsquo;t how she&rsquo;d describe the feeling she has when she&rsquo;s holding her guitar. It&rsquo;s meant to be a window into a relaxing, calm experience that she doesn&rsquo;t always get on the track.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I think when you listen to music, you can just dive into another world, and you can just be with your thoughts,&rdquo; Sanchez said. It helps me organize my thoughts and my head.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Thomas Hager remembers the first time he met Sanchez well. She was 15 years old, and he&rsquo;d been assigned as a regional coach.
&ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t that good of a day for her,&rdquo; Hager said. &ldquo;My question, in the end, was, &lsquo;Should we talk now or should we talk later?&rsquo;&rdquo;
She picked later. They never talked about the race, but a month afterward, Sanchez asked if she could join Hager&rsquo;s training group. It was a 40-minute drive from her home, but she started splitting time between training with Hager and time at her local club.
Once Sanchez did, she started asking the questions. One of the first, Hager said, was what her &ldquo;perfect week&rdquo; of training would look like under him. She had a &ldquo;feeling,&rdquo; he said, that something was wrong with her regimen. They were sitting before training in a gym, and Hager grabbed paper and a pen to draw it out.
&ldquo;Why don&rsquo;t we change everything to this?&rdquo; Sanchez asked. Hager obliged.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t expect that question at that age,&rdquo; he said.
Sanchez advanced quickly; she was all-in, with music and dancing set aside to pursue athletics, she arrived at a U18 final with a 14.2-second personal best. The spark, though, was still to come. That final saw her cut 0.6 seconds off her time.
&ldquo;It was kind of the day where everything clicked,&rdquo; she said.
In Sanchez&rsquo;s eyes, hurdling is a combination of speed and technique. The speed was always the part she loved, and if there&rsquo;s overspeed sprinting on the training plan, she&rsquo;s &ldquo;smiling all week,&rdquo; Hager said.
But the technique is what keeps her coming back, and the combination of both, she said, makes it &ldquo;really special.&rdquo;
Hager, Sanchez said, has always been a strong communicator, and they operate on the same wavelength. On that day, she started going faster and faster over the hurdles each round and found a new feeling &mdash; &ldquo;fast hurdling,&rdquo; she said. It was one German word in a conversation between the two that had unlocked the sport to her.
&ldquo;Kompakt.&rdquo;
The line between electrifying and calm, for Sanchez, is one she takes time to understand. Her home, Steinen, is home to just 3,000. Her time away &mdash; at first, driving to Hager's training group, then traveling to meets&nbsp;&mdash; takes her further from the place where, she said, &ldquo;everybody knows everybody.&rdquo;
From her desk at home, she can see the hills. She walks through the town when she returns. The feeling on those walks is similar, she said, to the one she gets with her guitar &mdash;&nbsp;a sense of calm. She&rsquo;ll always love to travel; her Instagram highlights are labeled &ldquo;europe&rdquo;, &ldquo;london&rdquo; and &ldquo;espa&ntilde;a&rdquo;; but her hometown is always a unique feeling.
She left home for Finland in August 2025, with that European final on the line. As she dissected the crowd at the final, there was one face she knew wasn&rsquo;t there.
Hager also works as a teacher. He stayed as long as he could, for Sanchez&rsquo;s heats and semifinal &mdash;&nbsp;so long that he had to do some running of his own to the bus and the airplane back to Zurich.
He sat on the flight with two other coaches. Hager didn&rsquo;t know the flight had internet access, and so when a coach approached him with the live results, he had to make a decision: wait, or watch.&nbsp;
The coach handed over his phone. Hager was cheering in his seat.
&ldquo;I could watch all the runs afterwards, and it was overwhelming to see the emotions,&rdquo; Hager said. &ldquo;To see her succeed in such a race and enjoying all that &mdash; it's fun to watch.&rdquo;
Weeks after that final and the Swiss national championships, Sanchez&rsquo; season was derailed by a tendon injury in training. She still had the Swiss U20 championships ahead.
&ldquo;I think I&rsquo;ve learned to accept what happens,&rdquo; Sanchez said. &ldquo;In the beginning, when I had to deal with injuries, it was destroying me because I couldn&rsquo;t do what I loved anymore. I didn&rsquo;t like that feeling at all.&rdquo;
Now, she looks to grow during that time. She trains her mind. She&rsquo;s finishing high school &mdash; when she returned home in April 2026, it was for a week of finals. It&rsquo;s about taking the best out of the time, she said. It&rsquo;s about progress off the track.
She loves the electrifying stage. The World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 are next on her list, where the 100m hurdles final will come four days before her 19th birthday. That&rsquo;s where she wants to perform.
Guitar, though, will take more time. Hager has never heard her play, he says, but he&rsquo;s seen her run &mdash;&nbsp;and he knows how far that&rsquo;s taken her already. Wherever she lands, it&rsquo;ll be with a smile.
&ldquo;I'm just a really cheerful person and when I like to do something, I really get excited about it,&rdquo; Sanchez said. &ldquo;I'm just so happy and cheerful and dancing.&rdquo;

Before becoming a European U20 champion, Sanchez thrived as an artist. With the world stage up next, she’s reconnecting with music on the road to Eugene.

Swiss hurdler Jil Sanchez turns from dance and music to athletics

Single-session tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 go on sale Wednesday, 29 April, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Fans can purchase tickets at <a href="http://www.tracktowntickets.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.TrackTownTickets.com</a>, with tickets starting at just $15 USD.
All Session five-day ticket packages &ndash; starting at $75 USD &ndash; and Weekend Warrior three-day packages &ndash; starting at just $50 USD &ndash; are also available for purchase <a href="https://am.ticketmaster.com/haywardtrackandfield/buy?id=NDk5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HERE</a>.
The World Athletics U20 Championships return to <a href="https://hayward.uoregon.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hayward Field at the University of Oregon</a> from 5&ndash;9 August, welcoming more than 1,700 junior athletes from nearly 200 countries to compete on the global stage. For future Olympians, their path often goes through the World Athletics U20 Championships. The last iteration of the World Athletics U20 Championships was held in Lima, Peru, where more than 50 athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were eligible to compete.

Single-session tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon go on sale Wednesday, 29 April, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time.

Single-Session Tickets for World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 On Sale 29 April

By Owen Murray
Does Jonathan Simms regret it? Was it the right call? Would he do it again?
He knew it was his last high school race &mdash; that&rsquo;s part of the reason he made his decision. Simms, a Nike Elite athlete with a commitment to the University of Georgia already declared, lined up for the Texas state 400m final. His injured leg wasn&rsquo;t relevant, not then, even if it would be a lap later.
&ldquo;At Texas regionals, I felt it a little bit,&rdquo; he remembers, a year later. He&rsquo;s talking about his hamstring. He took a couple of weeks off after qualifying at regionals.&nbsp;
Simms was back on the line at state. He didn&rsquo;t even get set for the gun before the train derailed. He was coming out of the blocks when he felt it pop. The damage ended up a grade one strain, he thinks, but he decided to run anyway.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m like, &lsquo;Whatever,&rsquo;&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just got out there and finished the lap.&rdquo; He did, in 47.21.
Was it the right call? &ldquo;Probably not, but I don't regret it.&rdquo;
Would you do it again? &ldquo;I would do it again.&rdquo;
That&rsquo;s what the world needs to know about Jonathan Simms. In Athens, Georgia, he&rsquo;s racking up times (and national awards) as the newest phenom in the Bulldogs&rsquo; shed of 400m flashes. Simms put himself on the map with a 44.62-second world U20 record* in his NCAA debut, but behind the scenes, he&rsquo;s been building his case for a long time. It just took no regrets, a disregard for pressure and some help from a mad scientist, plus a trick from his dad to get it started.
Because your parents always know best.
Simms&rsquo; story started at a track in Texas &mdash; or, maybe more accurately, a few weeks before that. Jonathan didn't know yet that his father, Daryl, had run track at the University of Iowa. He just loved the Olympics. Simms was 7 years old when he told his dad that he wanted to go there one day.
&ldquo;Like, to watch,&rdquo; Jonathan clarifies now. Oh, you can go, Daryl told him. &ldquo;And so I was like, &lsquo;All right, bet.&rsquo; I thought we're going to the Olympics.&rdquo;
Then came the track, one day in the heat of the summer of 2014. Daryl told him that sure, he was going to the Olympics.
He was going to run there. It was going to start on that track.
Track didn&rsquo;t take over his life immediately. Jonathan spent almost a decade playing soccer &mdash; he was the stopper at the heart of the defensive line &mdash; at the same time as track. When he started to fall out of love with soccer, though, running stepped up. He didn&rsquo;t feel much pressure.
It was Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) sports that taught him that pressure isn&rsquo;t necessary. By the time he got through middle and high school, he&rsquo;d been running for years. When he went to practice &mdash;&nbsp;even to meets &mdash;&nbsp;the faces were familiar. The ones that weren&rsquo;t didn&rsquo;t have the same dedication that he did. Pressure wasn&rsquo;t an issue then. It isn&rsquo;t really now, either.
&ldquo;I got used to running for so much that even when things were getting more serious, as I was getting older and things were starting to look at college, and what times I need for college and on bigger stages like that, I was just used to running in general so I didn&rsquo;t feel so much pressure to get recruited for this or that,&rdquo; Simms said.
The first time it twinged, though, was at his sophomore year state meet. Lined up with the juniors and seniors, he just remembers a thought: Oh, wow.
That summer, he ran at the Brooks PR Invitational and Nike Outdoor Nationals. It&rsquo;s a specific type of pressure that he remembers from that summer&mdash; the type that comes from feeling inexperienced.
At that Brooks meet, he ran sub-46 (45.90) for the first time. Daryl bought him a rose gold chain. He still wears it, alongside the yellow gold chain from his mother, Kay McClelland. NON came with a 46.09 win.
Two years later, he lined up again at state. This time, he was the experienced one, and he&rsquo;d committed to Georgia in December 2024. It didn&rsquo;t matter that his hamstring wasn&rsquo;t having it: he was finishing his last lap at Allen.&nbsp;
The injury, though, did mandate weeks of rehab before he made it to Eugene for the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships. He remembers flashes from the 400m final there, too. He remembers feeling nervous, then getting out fast &mdash;&nbsp;but everyone was getting out fast. He remembers feeling strong. It was over quickly, in 45.44. He took home gold, with a new feeling.
&ldquo;It was the first time I ran when I felt strong like that,&rdquo; he said.
Pressure evolves. At Georgia, he&rsquo;s training with one of the nation&rsquo;s best 400m groups. Paris Olympian (and former Bulldog) Christopher Morales Williams is a frequent competitor, but Georgia athletes London Costen and Mohamed Adoini have 47-second times to their names already this season.
&ldquo;Especially here at college, I know everybody here is fast,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;Nobody here is slow, so it's a real competition every time I run.&nbsp;
&ldquo;But I enjoy it.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s the furthest he&rsquo;s ever been from home &mdash; he always lived within 45 minutes of the same place in Texas. In Georgia, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s different, but I like it,&rdquo; he said. Daryl and Kay still call before he runs. He tries to call at least once a week.
Simms has evolved too, under the man he calls alternatingly &ldquo;Sunshine and Rainbows&rdquo; and &ldquo;The Mad Scientist.&rdquo; Karim Abdel Wahab is an associate head coach at Georgia &mdash; he handles its sprinters and hurdlers. Simms is already all-in.
&ldquo;(Abdel Wahab) cares,&rdquo; Simms said. &ldquo;He invests a lot of time into it, and you can trust him &mdash;&nbsp;you can trust what he says. He makes it easy to trust him.&rdquo;
The first nickname comes from his positivity. The second comes from his ability to break down 400m races &ldquo;to a science&rdquo; (Simms&rsquo; words). Proficiency happens in three steps, Abdel Wahab says.
1. Put in the conditioning. Put in the technical work. This happens in the fall.
Abdel Wahab says that it&rsquo;s Simms&rsquo; comprehension that keys his ability to improve at rapid pace. It&rsquo;s something he can&rsquo;t coach, he says &mdash; maybe it&rsquo;s the ability that Simms picked up as a mechanical engineering major, but it might be something else, Abdel Wahab says, that allows him to garner and implement so much information. Abdel Wahab puts it down to the &ldquo;obsession of mastering his craft.&rdquo; Simms describes the process as &ldquo;fine tuning.&rdquo;
2. Put the race together (that&rsquo;s what Simms did at Clemson)
Before the Clemson Invitational on Jan. 10, Simms and Abdel Wahab met multiple times to talk about the plan for his debut. On the table was race strategy, down to different split models and how he could execute them, but also how each 100m split should feel. Simms soaked it all in. In South Carolina, his NCAA debut ended with a world U20 record time: 44.62, and nobody close. But there&rsquo;s one more step.
3. Put the race together under elite competition and pressure
Two weeks later, Simms raced Morales Williams at the Razorback Invitational. He came second, in 45.04 (at the same meet, he split 44.32 in Georgia&rsquo;s 4x400m race). Abdel Wahab told Simms he&rsquo;s &ldquo;so happy&rdquo; they raced each other &mdash;&nbsp;it&rsquo;s a race that they can get in the lab with and pick apart. He gets to fix flaws way before (he hopes) toeing the line at the NCAA Championships. More obsession. More fine tuning. Less pressure.
When Simms talks about why he picked his sport, he&rsquo;s not always sure &mdash;&ldquo;I don't know,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just love track.&rdquo; Some of it is the opportunity it provides him to push himself. He doesn&rsquo;t like letting others down &mdash; that&rsquo;s why he doesn&rsquo;t love team sports. In track, with a bad race, he says that he&rsquo;s not letting anyone down but himself. He runs to spread his faith, too &mdash; &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my whole purpose in running track,&rdquo; Simms said. It&rsquo;s what he wants to use his new platform for. That stage is only growing, and success is measured in little things, like the day he&rsquo;ll buy himself a white gold chain to complete his set.
In Georgia, the pressure switch is flicked off.
&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a young man,&rdquo; Abdel Wahab said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not putting any pressure on him.&rdquo;
They don&rsquo;t have numbers for him, the coach says. They&rsquo;re watching him race, against Morales Williams and the best in the NCAA, and taking notes. His career isn&rsquo;t one to be measured in numbers yet. Simms is getting comfortable. Maybe the pressure will evolve there, too. After all, it happened in high school. Why not in college?
There&rsquo;s something Abdel Wahab does want to measure in, though. It&rsquo;s something that Simms has been getting ready for for a while. It started on a track in Texas, with his dad and some wordplay. It&rsquo;ll end in Los Angeles, or maybe in Brisbane.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re thinking about Olympic Games,&rdquo; the Mad Scientist says.
*pending ratification by World Athletics

What’s driving University of Georgia 400m phenom Jonathan Simms’ rise? The teenager ran a U20 world record time this winter. His road from Texas to Georgia is loaded with unique comprehension, a mad scientist, and a trick from his dad.

What’s driving University of Georgia 400m phenom Jonathan Simms’ rise?

Tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 are now available for purchase. Fans can buy tickets at <a href="http://www.tracktowntickets.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TrackTownTickets.com</a>, with five-day packages starting at just US$75.00 and three-day weekend packages starting at US$50.00.
The World Athletics U20 Championships return to <a href="https://hayward.uoregon.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hayward Field at the University of Oregon</a> from 5-9 August, welcoming more than 1,700 junior athletes from nearly 200 countries to compete on the global stage.
For future Olympians, their path often goes through the World Athletics U20 Championships. The last iteration of the World Athletics U20 Championships was held in Lima, Peru, where more than 50 athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were eligible to compete.
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<a href="https://am.ticketmaster.com/haywardtrackandfield/buy?id=NDk5" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/699ede6ff478bd78049cc1b7.png" alt="Tickets for World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 Now On Sale" /></a>
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The World Athletics U20 Championships return to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon from 5-9 August, welcoming more than 1,700 junior athletes from nearly 200 countries to compete on the global stage.

Tickets for World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 now on sale

Tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 go on sale Wednesday, February 25th, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Fans can purchase tickets at <a href="http://www.tracktowntickets.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.TrackTownTickets.com</a>, with five-day packages starting at just $75.00.
The World Athletics U20 Championships return to <a href="https://hayward.uoregon.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hayward Field at the University of Oregon</a> from August 5th - 9th, welcoming more than 1,700 junior athletes from nearly 200 countries to compete on the global stage. For future Olympians, their path often goes through the World Athletics U20 Championships. The last iteration of the World Athletics U20 Championships was held in Lima, Peru, where more than 50 athletes from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were eligible to compete.

Tickets for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 go on sale Wednesday, February 25th, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Fans can purchase tickets at www.TrackTownTickets.com, with five-day packages starting at just $75.00.

Tickets for World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 On Sale February 25th

By Owen Murray
Michal Rada is many things.
Before one of the biggest races of his life, he was playing a videogame with his friend.
In a room in Tampere, Finland, in between the semifinal and final 400m hurdles race of the 2025 European Athletics U20 Championships, Rada and Marek V&aacute;ňa worked together. In less than a day, they&rsquo;ll cross the finish line in the stadium. Rada will be the championship record holder. V&aacute;ňa, his friend formed from three years of competition, will watch him do it (and secure third place, too).
Their project in between the races was a careful, painstaking process that requires honest attention and faces close to screens. It&rsquo;s relaxing, if you ask them. The two teenage boys directed their avatars. They spent hours of their time in between races focused on the laptops. Then, finally, they reached the last stage of the project.
They&rsquo;re two of their nation&rsquo;s best U20 hurdlers. Rada was stressed about the weight of expectation on tomorrow&rsquo;s race. That didn&rsquo;t matter then. What mattered to them was their game of Minecraft.
Michal Rada is many things.
A teenager. A twin. Yes, now a Minecraft aficionado. He spends much of his time talking about connection. His twin sister, Nina Radov&aacute;, is a hurdler, too. With his eyes &mdash;&nbsp;their eyes &mdash;&nbsp;on the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon this year, Rada is thinking more about those bonds. He doesn&rsquo;t remember his races, but the memories come flooding back as soon as he crosses the finish line.
What he&rsquo;s seen over the past two years are second&ndash;place finishes that turned into first-place medals. He&rsquo;s grinned with his twin sister and his friend on the finish line in Tampere. Next is a return to the world stage. Rada took silver as a relative outsider two years ago in Lima. This year, he&rsquo;s hoping to head to Eugene as Europe&rsquo;s best. The part that matters the most to him, though, is the connection.
It starts with Radov&aacute; (even though she knows, in her own words, &ldquo;nothing about Minecraft.&rdquo;)
The two older siblings &mdash; they have a 14-year-old sister and a six-year old brother, both in athletics &mdash; agree that their least favorite question about being a twin is how far apart they were born. It&rsquo;s because the people who ask him know that Radov&aacute; was first (Rada: &ldquo;I&rsquo;m not annoyed about it&hellip;but she&rsquo;s older, and everyone knows it.&rdquo;).
The rest of it is, in Rada&rsquo;s words, &ldquo;actually amazing.&rdquo;
For now, he and Radov&aacute; are around each other constantly. When Rada broke his arm on his skateboard, he hid it for two days, only giving in when it hurt too much (per Radov&aacute;). They&rsquo;re both high schoolers &mdash; she&rsquo;s the one who remembers when assignments are due. In July 2024, they won gold medals minutes apart at the European Athletics U18 Championships. When they compete at the same meets, it&rsquo;s not easy on his heart.
&ldquo;It is stressful, to be honest,&rdquo; Rada said. &ldquo;Because you not only have to think about your race, but because we're twins, we&rsquo;ve been living with each other our whole lives, you're also thinking about her, about how she feels, what she's thinking.
&ldquo;But when she's doing well, your joy is also two times bigger.&rdquo;
Radov&aacute; said something similar.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t really like racing before him,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I like it more after, so I know how he ended up. She remembers watching his race in Tampere, getting ready for her own, and seeing his effort. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s stressful,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But you have double happiness after.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s nothing new. Their parents signed them up for athletics as kids because they wanted a sport that the twins could do together. Since then, Rada said, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re basically in love with this sport.&rdquo;
&ldquo;Since childhood, Michal wanted to win in any activity,&rdquo; his coach, Jiř&iacute; Couf, said in writing through a translator. &ldquo;The whole family still competes in everything&hellip;and that ability, concentration and focus on victory and the desire to succeed since childhood certainly helps Michal in the present.&rdquo;
The race that Rada calls one of the &ldquo;greatest races of my entire career,&rdquo; though, came when he finished second.
In Lima two years ago, a month after he and Radov&aacute; won gold in Bansk&aacute; Bystrica, Slovakia at the European Athletics U20 Championships, Rada entered the U20 400m hurdles field as a relative outsider. By his own estimation, he was more focused on qualifying for the final than any thought of winning it.
He&rsquo;d taken the European U18 crown with a 49.42-second win. Despite that, the teenager wasn&rsquo;t expected to shine at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima a month later &mdash;&nbsp;he was just focused on getting in the final.
When he qualified for the final with a 49.36 world U20-leading time in the semifinal race of the World Athletics U20 Championships, his focus changed.
&ldquo;Who knows?&rdquo; he thought. &ldquo;Maybe I won't have this opportunity ever again.&rdquo;
After he rumbled across the finish line in the final, he landed on his hands and knees, waiting for the time. When it came, he looked up. Second place, by 0.04 seconds,&nbsp;in a Czech U20 record 49.30.
Michal Rada is many things. After that race, he was the world U20 vice champion.
He was happy, too.
&ldquo;It was bittersweet for me the first one or two weeks,&rdquo; Rada said. &ldquo;Because I knew that it was super close to the gold medal. But in general, I'm so happy for it.&rdquo;
He grinned nonetheless as the Czech flag expanded underneath his arms.
A year later, Rada made it to the European U20 stage for the first time. By that point, he and V&aacute;ňa were good friends. They&rsquo;d risen to the top of the 400m hurdles pool, and Rada arrived in Tampere as a favorite with eyes on the record books.
That&rsquo;s why he was so stressed, he thinks. He knew he was the favorite, and that directed his thoughts to what would happen if he didn&rsquo;t win.
That&rsquo;s where the game comes in.
In the mixed zone after the semifinal, Rada smiled during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43wogmDzrnY">an interview</a> as V&aacute;ňa explained that they&rsquo;d prepared for their race by playing the game in their room all day.
&ldquo;We were like, &lsquo;Yo, we both have our laptops here, so let's download Minecraft and we can play together,&rdquo; Rada said now. &ldquo;And since then, we're playing nonstop every day.&rsquo;&rdquo;
They downloaded the game before the semifinal race &mdash;&nbsp;&rdquo;We were playing the whole afternoon, for five or six hours straight,&rdquo; Rada said. They ran the semifinal, qualified &mdash;&nbsp;Rada ran so well that, &ldquo;Perhaps it&rsquo;s a pity that there wasn&rsquo;t a final that day,&rdquo; Couf said &mdash;&nbsp;and hopped back on the game for another four hours before they finally slept.
They woke up the next day with the race not scheduled until the night&hellip;and played all day. By the time they left Finland, they&rsquo;d beaten it.
It was more about relaxing, Rada thinks, than the game itself. They were stressed and looking for a way to take their minds away from the races (&ldquo;We were so bored,&rdquo; he said). He thinks of it as a way to talk with friends. That&rsquo;s what he and V&aacute;ňa were doing in their room before the race.
In his room at home, Rada hangs his medals in a long line on the wall. In order to remember the races, though, he has to jog his memory.
&ldquo;Every time I compete on a big stage, I basically cannot remember anything,&rdquo; he said. From the gun to the tape, it&rsquo;s a void. Instead, in order to learn, he rewatches old videos of his races, almost every day.
&ldquo;I repeat them, almost every day, trying to be the best version of me,&rdquo; Rada said.
What he noticed before Tampere was his trailing leg &mdash;&nbsp;vital in the hurdles events &mdash;&nbsp;was mistimed. He figures that it&rsquo;s what lost him the race in Lima. That year was spent on drills, time counting steps between hurdles and slowing down. It&rsquo;s not just running the race over and over. It&rsquo;s technique &mdash;&nbsp;careful, painstaking process with honest attention. His face watches the screen as the videos of his old races play.
His memories start again after he crossed the finish line in Tampere. What he remembers: a win &mdash;&nbsp;one he was expected to take&nbsp;&mdash; but a championship-record time to pair with it.
&ldquo;I was nervous at the final, after all, it was already the third run in a row,&rdquo; Couf said. &ldquo;I knew that Michal wanted to break the championship record and the European record. I believed that Michal would give an excellent performance. He did well in the final, and most importantly, the eighth obstacle came out very well and I already knew that he could get closer to the record. In the end, only the championship record came out, but as I know Michal, he will strive for the European record this year.&rdquo;
With Eugene on the horizon, Rada is ready. It&rsquo;s no fault of memory &mdash;&nbsp;he&rsquo;s never crossed a finish line in the U.S. He&rsquo;ll have connections anyway; he&rsquo;s expecting Radov&aacute; to qualify &ldquo;no problem.&rdquo; Should they both race in Eugene, the focus will be on a new title: world U20 champion. He was 0.04 seconds off the European U20 record when he won in Tampere last year. He&rsquo;s been watching the videos back.
Michal Rada is many things. He wants to go to university after high school, because he thinks that he can&rsquo;t focus his life on just track and field. He wants to try American fast food &mdash; especially Wingstop. He&rsquo;s happy (&ldquo;Really, really, really, really happy&rdquo;) that his family has been by his side the whole time.&nbsp; His coach sees it, too.
&ldquo;Family and friends are very important in Michal&rsquo;s life,&rdquo; Couf said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about his sports development, but also about his mental development.&rdquo;
Before the final in Lima, Rada thought he might not have the opportunity again. Before the final in Tampere, he pushed past nerves.
Before Eugene, he&rsquo;s prepared for another chance.

Rada, the world U20 vice champion over 400m hurdles, is chasing the gold medal this year. He’s quieting the nerves and embracing connection with the help of a videogame and his sister Nina Radová, who doubles his joy.

How Minecraft and a twin sister helped Czech hurdler Michal Rada overcome stress in pursuit of record-breaking times

By Owen Murray
The last time Jasmine Robinson was nobody, she figures, was a little less than two years ago. It was the day before her high school state championship track meet, at Grisham Stadium in Carrollton, Georgia: 8 May 2024.
The now-senior, national champion dual hurdler was a sophomore then. Nobody had commented on her TikToks, telling her that they&rsquo;d seen her race yet. Nobody was offering official visits to SEC schools yet. Nobody thought that she could catch them yet.
By the end of the meet, nobody could catch her. She&rsquo;d broken the state-record time en route to a title in the 300m hurdles, laid down the 19th-best time in preps history in the 400m hurdles and grabbed another win in the 200m final. By the end of the meet on 11 May, she figures, she was someone.
Now, she&rsquo;s flipping the script. Robinson committed to the University of Georgia in November. She thrived in high school as someone everyone knows; attached to her name are state and Nike Outdoor Nationals titles, multiple state Gatorade Player of the Year wins and selection to the Nike Elite training group. She&rsquo;s ready to move on.
&ldquo;I'm not saying I'm sick of high school, but I'm definitely ready to just get out there. Track-wise, I'm just excited,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;Because I do better when I'm nobody.&rdquo;
When she&rsquo;s nobody?
&ldquo;I want to be nobody again in the track world,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I'm looking forward to it&hellip;I think it fuels me to be nobody,&nbsp;because now I'm in Georgia. Everyone &mdash;&nbsp;I think most people &mdash;&nbsp;know I'm Jasmine.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s true. Robinson has been busy writing her story over the length of a preps career that rose from that Georgia state meet in 2024 to national finals in Eugene, Oregon and the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru. A pair of hurdles&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;one in Georgia and another in Lima &mdash; have held her back momentarily, but she&rsquo;s ready to run a new story at the NCAA level for the Bulldogs in the fall, fueled by a perspective closer to what she felt on the track in Carrollton.
&ldquo;I want to just go on the track like, &lsquo;Who is that? Who is that?&rsquo;&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But then, &lsquo;Oh, whoa, what is she pulling off right now?&rsquo;
And then, boom.
&ldquo;I'm going to be Jasmine Robinson again,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But I want it to be a new story.&rdquo;
Robinson remembers two races from the last time she thinks she was nobody. The first hurdle that delayed her was there, in Carrollton in 2024.
She started to notice something in the first of the two races, the qualifier for the 300m hurdles final. It was the first one where she was ahead big, and where she felt like everything flowed perfectly.
Almost everything. She cleared the last hurdle on her left leg, not the right like she&rsquo;d planned to. She ran 41.03 &mdash; still first place by over a second.
&ldquo;Everyone was like, &lsquo;Oh, that would have been in 39 (seconds). That would have been 39, if you stayed on your dominant leg."
She realized they were right. She went into the state race thinking that she just had to run the same race, and pick up the right leg on the last hurdle instead. In the final, she did.
The result?
&ldquo;Boom. 39. So excited,&rdquo; she said.
The personal goals she continues breaking start with a wall in her room, where she keeps goals written on sticky notes. Every time she adds a new one, it&rsquo;s supposed to go on the wall. It&rsquo;s not something that started with a moment &mdash;&nbsp;it just &ldquo;randomly happened,&rdquo; she said.
It came from something she remembered where she was told that, in order to make things happen, she needed to write them down. It wasn&rsquo;t enforced there, but she wasn&rsquo;t sharing them with anyone regardless. They were just for her.
&ldquo;I sleep by my wall,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I see it every day. It&rsquo;s nice to wake up by what I want to do.&rdquo;
Robinson qualified for her first international final later that year. She and her club coach, Blane Williams, traveled to Lima, Peru in August 2024 for the World Athletics U20 Championships. The second hurdle lived there.
She doesn&rsquo;t remember anything between the gun and the final turn. On the finish line, she was thinking, &lsquo;I&rsquo;m getting silver.&rsquo; She made it into the post-race hallways, near the media area, where she was waiting for the boys winners to come through, when she saw her replay on the TV, and a notice. She&rsquo;d been disqualified for hooking a hurdle.
&ldquo;I'm like, &lsquo;It can't be real, it can't be real.&rsquo;&rdquo;
With her head down, she grabbed her bag. Williams was waiting outside the checkout area. He remembers, too.
&ldquo;I just grabbed her and intercepted her right away from having to come back in and deal with the crowd,&rdquo; he said. "I just shielded her from all that, and took her to a private spot where she could get her emotions out and we could talk a little bit.&rdquo;
He took her jacket and put it over her head. Robinson remembers him saying, &ldquo;Before you go back out there, let's get you right.&rdquo;
&ldquo;He let me cry it out,&rdquo; she said.
&ldquo;I just told her that this is just one day in a whole lot of days that she has on the track,&rdquo; Williams said. &rdquo;This thing happened, you can't redo it at this point. We just move on.
She did. Three days or so after the race, Robinson saw her photos. She decided to post on Instagram, like she normally does, despite the disqualification. It wasn&rsquo;t going to be a sad post, she decided.
&ldquo;Revenge tour starts today,&rdquo; she wrote. &ldquo;And we&rsquo;re going worldwide with it.&rdquo;
&ldquo;I knew I was 16 (years old), so I definitely had another chance to go again,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I'm not sad about it, but I think that it kind of built character on me because I don't want to&hellip;I'm not going out like that.&rdquo;
She didn't.
Robinson hasn&rsquo;t made the time to change the sticky notes from last season yet, but right now, the wall has paper goals that she thinks she met on it. Her individual time goals are there, but so is one for making it to the US U20 Championships.
She could&rsquo;ve pulled that note down in July, when she made it to the meet in Eugene. There, she won a haul of medals: both Nike Outdoor Nationals hurdles titles, the U20 100m hurdles championship and silver in the U20 400m hurdles final. It&rsquo;s not the end of the revenge tour, but it&rsquo;s a start&nbsp;&mdash;&nbsp;and it&rsquo;s fuel for her belief.
&ldquo;I always say, &lsquo;It&rsquo;s one thing to say you&rsquo;re going to do something,&rsquo;&rdquo; Robinson said. &ldquo;&lsquo;But to actually, deep down in your soul and heart believe you&rsquo;re going to do something is different than doing it all the time.&rsquo;&rdquo;
She needs an example to really explain the feeling.
&ldquo;All right, let's just say something crazy,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I'm just going to use this as an example: Let's say that I just keep saying to people, &lsquo;I'm gonna run the world record.&rsquo;&rdquo;
Okay. She&rsquo;s going to run the world record.
&ldquo;I have it in my head now, &lsquo;I'm going to run the world record,&rsquo;&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;But (unless it&rsquo;s) deep down in my soul &mdash; I can say it all the time in my head, I can say it out loud &mdash; I don't think you can do it unless you believe it in your heart, too.&rdquo;
Robinson committed to the University of Georgia on 30 November. It's one of Williams&rsquo; dreams, for all of his athletes.
&ldquo;That, to me, is a life changing gift,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Whether they go to the Olympics or the pros or all that stuff, that's gravy, but at some point they have to get a job, so they need that education.&rdquo;
Robinson is aiming to get back to Hayward Field, over and over. Her next goal on the revenge tour is the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26, in August. On the way there, she&rsquo;ll tuck a first season in the NCAA (and maybe another trip to Hayward Field, for the NCAA Outdoor Championships) under her belt.
Will she be nobody when she gets there? She doesn&rsquo;t know. One of Robinson&rsquo;s first coaches told Williams that, &ldquo;She's the kind of person that may not get out on you from the start, but she's going to catch you and run you down. I don&rsquo;t want her to be that way &mdash;&nbsp;I want her to go and get out (in front). But if that&rsquo;s going to be who you are, if you&rsquo;re going to be a seeker and a destroyer, then do that.
&ldquo;But that&rsquo;s not a nobody, you know?&rdquo;
When asked to describe Robinson, Williams said she has a &ldquo;big heart.&rdquo; It was working to complete her world-record example of belief.
&ldquo;It's not even just envisioning it, either,&rdquo; Robinson said. &ldquo;You can't just envision. You have to be crazy about it. You have to eat, sleep, breathe and know &mdash;&nbsp;know &mdash; that you know that you can do it.&rdquo;

Robinson lit the world on fire with a preps career that led to the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2024 and a commitment to the University of Georgia in 2025. Now, though, she wants to chase the field back down from an old perspective — and tell a new story in the process.

Why star high school hurdler Jasmine Robinson wants ‘to be nobody again’

The full event schedule for the world’s return to Oregon has been announced by World Athletics and TrackTown USA. The 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships will take place August 5-9, 2026, at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.

Full Event Schedule Announced for World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

It took a second for 16-year-old <a href="https://worldathletics.org/athletes/united-states/cooper-lutkenhaus-15152457" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cooper Lutkenhaus</a>, sitting at home with the Cowboys game playing on TV, to remember the last time he was bored. It&rsquo;s not something the owner of the U18 800m world-best time usually gets the luxury of, but it happens every so often.
&ldquo;Maybe this morning,&rdquo; he decided, &ldquo;because I didn't have to run today, so I was kind of just laying around, but I'm going out tonight to buy a couple of clothing items that I might need for school this week.&rdquo;
Over the span of his sophomore year of high school, Lutkenhaus broke the high school 800m record three times. He leaped to the forefront of the track and field world, and went from high school cross country to the World Athletics Championships. Over the next year, he&rsquo;ll work to qualify for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26, where he could return to Hayward Field at the University of Oregon to continue that climb. His coach, Chris Capeau, describes him as &ldquo;relentless&rdquo; (a word he used six times in his interview) but he also calls him &ldquo;joyful&rdquo; and a kid. Together, they&rsquo;re walking the line between high schooler and world record-holder &ndash; and they&rsquo;re winning.
&ldquo;People will kind of put these hard things on him,&rdquo; Capeau said. &ldquo;The good part is it doesn't faze him. He wants the bar to be higher. He wants the standard to be raised.&rdquo;
But Lutkenhaus is still 16, and so the night before he would run in the biggest race of his life, at the USATF Outdoor Championships, he was a few blocks away at the perfect place: Track Town Pizza. The marquee board for the nearly 50-year-old local spot has swapped between a Prefontaine Classic advertisement and one reading &ldquo;Wear Green and Yell &lsquo;O&rsquo;,&rdquo; and he was eating what he called &ldquo;probably not the best day-before food&rdquo; and sitting with his family.
It wasn&rsquo;t the athlete centre that was set up south of Hayward Field, with cold tubs and mini fridges full of Gatorade. It wasn&rsquo;t the hotel with rows of conference rooms and a bed. It wasn&rsquo;t glamorous, but it&rsquo;s wooden booths, TVs on every wall and framed Oregon football newspapers.
It&rsquo;s tradition for a family that has been doing this for a while. This isn&rsquo;t his first time in Eugene &ndash; not even the first time this summer. That was a little less than a month before, when he ran 1:45.45 on a rainy Saturday at Hayward Field to break his own high school record, which he initially set a few months earlier at 1:46.26, a couple of hundred miles north at the Brooks PR Invitational.
They&rsquo;re also there because the Lutkenhaus family is together. It&rsquo;s not often they get to be in one place. The three boys &ndash; George Jr., Andrew and Cooper &ndash; are split between college and high school. This weekend, they all flew in.
&ldquo;I feel like I've been in Eugene so many times now, that it almost feels like almost a home track besides the one I run on every day,&rdquo; Lutkenhaus said. &ldquo;But the USAs trip was&hellip;honestly, I think it went perfect.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6901478e7417af61aaa4686c.jpg" alt="Cooper Lutkenhaus and Bryce Hoppel at the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon." />
<div style="text-align: right;">Cooper Lutkenhaus and Bryce Hoppel at the 2025 Toyota USATF Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon. (<img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Patrick Smith / Getty Images)</div>
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The next day, Lutkenhaus stood on the red warmup track outside Hayward Field. Normally, what&rsquo;s notable is that it circles six tennis courts and a turf soccer field used by students. For the weekend, it was crowded with his heroes. Somewhere among them was the 800m pack &ndash; which included Lutkenhaus&rsquo; favorite runner, American record-holder Bryce Hoppel.
&ldquo;I want to be able to be a person like that,&rdquo; Lutkenhaus said. &ldquo;I look up to Bryce. To be able to see him doing so well in his career and trying to do what he can do&hellip;It's really cool.&rdquo;
Two years ago, Lutkenhaus saw Hoppel run in the 800m final in the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. He&rsquo;s pretty sure he was watching on his phone at school. It&rsquo;s sort of what he does.
&ldquo;If you go on my school computer and go on YouTube, there's just (videos of) 1500m and 800m finals, from Olympics and World Championships,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I just love to watch the sport for what it is.&rdquo;
When he&rsquo;s lifting weights outside, he&rsquo;ll turn on full runs of collegiate 10,000m races. &ldquo;I just love to see the sport, especially when there's Americans in the race, that's always more exciting to get to see some of the best athletes in the world compete.&rdquo;
The championship race itself is well documented, but it deserves some perspective. Before 2025, five US men had ever run faster than 1:43. On the day of the race, Lutkenhaus&rsquo; high school record (1:45.45) was two seconds behind the collegiate record (1:43.25).
He closed the final 200m of the final race in 25.42 seconds &ndash; faster than any other runner by more than a second. He surged from seventh to second, and passed Hoppel near the line. His final time, 1:42.27, is the U18 world best, the fourth-fastest ever by a US athlete and puts him joint 19th in world history.
After they crossed the line, 22-hundredths of a second apart, Hoppel made a beeline for Lutkenhaus.
&ldquo;Keep it up,&rdquo; he told him. &ldquo;I think you can be one of the best ever.&rdquo;
Some time before Lutkenhaus was in the media tent, Hoppel was there, too. He had a bronze medal around his neck, but he was being asked about the second-place finisher. He waved his hands.
&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know how to even fathom that yet,&rdquo; Hoppel said to a scrum of reporters. &ldquo;I was telling someone earlier, I don&rsquo;t even know what I was doing at 16.&rdquo;
The mixed zone is a difficult place to be bored, especially when most of the athletes are being asked about you. Lutkenhaus walked on the hard flooring to the end of the backdrop, where the scrum was stacked three-deep and two-high (someone is on a chair, trying to get an angle with their phone). The first question came:
&ldquo;Did you have any idea how fast you were going?&rdquo;
The next three weeks were a blur. He walked out of the tent and got on a flight six hours later (&ldquo;I slept maybe an hour in a span of 48,&rdquo; he said). There would be no time to be bored; he called Capeau from a gas station in Eugene to recap the weekend. Later that month, he&rsquo;d walk through the newly-open door and sign his first professional contract with Nike.
&ldquo;It maybe took three weeks before I could really relax and look back at everything,&rdquo; Lutkenhaus said.
During those three weeks, Hoppel asked for Lutkenhaus&rsquo; phone number. He made the call. They talked about the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo &ndash; Lutkenhaus asked if there was anything he needed to bring &ndash; and then got to the race.
&ldquo;It was just being able to hear from him, saying your life's going to be pretty crazy,&rdquo; Lutkenhaus said. &ldquo;Especially those weeks leading into world championships, which definitely weren&rsquo;t (chill). They were crazy.&rdquo;
His race in Tokyo was well-documented, too. Lutkenhaus finished seventh in his heat, in 1:47.68, and was eliminated after jumping early into the outside lanes and running most of his race there. He calls it &ldquo;the worst race tactics I&rsquo;ve had&rdquo; but thinks he&rsquo;s learned from it.
When Lutkenhaus and Capeau got into an Uber to travel to a USATF banquet the next afternoon, it was quiet for a while. The race had sat with them for almost a day. Then, Capeau started talking.
&ldquo;I forget how I worded it, but it was almost something like, &lsquo;Hard moment, but what an incredible year, right?&rsquo;&rdquo; Capeau said. &ldquo;The moment sucked, but the year? Oh, my god. Tell me about it.&rdquo;
It&rsquo;s the battle, as Capeau described it, of putting the year in perspective. One year ago, Lutkenhaus was still a star &mdash; but one looking at college offers. In the Uber, he was a teenage World Championship qualifier less than a month removed from turning pro.
In the car, Lutkenhaus started going on his phone and counting the number of races he&rsquo;d been through in the past year. He went through the list, and it crossed 30.
&ldquo;If we ended my year at Nike Outdoor Nationals, when I ran 1:45, I would have been happy with it,&rdquo; Lutkenhaus said. &ldquo;It would have been a great year, but then it just kept on going. I think if you counted my cross country season, I was racing for over a year&hellip;that's a long time.&rdquo;
They sat together and took time to put the year in perspective.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re both still kind of bummed,&rdquo; Capeau said. &ldquo;You have to be able to file it away. You&rsquo;ve got to have the second to let the emotion be real, but also (say), &lsquo;Here&rsquo;s the things we did do. Here&rsquo;s the success we did have. Here&rsquo;s the blessing of this moment &mdash;&nbsp;it doesn&rsquo;t feel good, but it allows us to grow up with it.&rsquo;&rdquo;
For now, though, he&rsquo;s got homecoming. The Cowboys game is on TV, and he&rsquo;s sitting in his house in Justin, Texas doing his best to take time to be bored. It hasn&rsquo;t been easy. For now, he&rsquo;s &ldquo;off&rdquo; &ndash; and that means something to Capeau.
&ldquo;When we're off, we're off,&rdquo; the coach said. &ldquo;We don't talk about racing, we don't talk about training. We just are off. He's just out there riding the bike with other guys and talking to them, and goes back to being a 16-year-old kid.&rdquo;
In less than a year, he&rsquo;ll aim to return to Hayward Field to run at the place that feels like home again, in the World Athletics U20 Championships. There&rsquo;s no longer a lack of expectation for the soon-to-be 17-year-old.
He went to another school&rsquo;s homecoming last week, but he&rsquo;s not making it to his own this year &ndash; instead, he&rsquo;ll be in Lubbock for the Texas Tech football game. On 9 October, he took up his newest job, as the Northwest High School Cross Country team manager. He walked around the course with Capeau. He took the obligatory photos. He joked.
&ldquo;I think about it in the aspect of that he can absolutely go and train with 28-year-olds,&rdquo; Capeau said. &ldquo;But also, it's like, is a 28-year-old going to be a 16-year-old's best friend? Probably not, probably shouldn't, right? What he does get to do with the other 16-year-olds on his team is he gets to laugh.&rdquo;
Sometimes, he gets to be bored, too. It&rsquo;s what happens when you win.
Owen Murray for&nbsp;WU20 Oregon 26
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800m star Cooper Lutkenhaus sprinted to the top of the mountain over the past year. As he looks toward Oregon 26, he can take time to rest, too.

‘He wants the standard to be raised’: Lutkenhaus’ journey into the teenage track and field spotlight

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<h1 style="text-align: center; color: #96f460;">WORLD ATHLETICS U20 CHAMPIONSHIPS OREGON 26</h1>
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">HAYWARD FIELD AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OREGON</h2>
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The future of track &amp; field takes center stage as the world&rsquo;s top rising stars battle for gold at the 21st edition of the World Athletics U20 Championships on 5&ndash;9 August 2026.
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Oregon previously hosted the World Athletics Championships in 2022 and the World U20 Championships in 2014.
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