<p>Previews for the <strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26</strong> on 5-9 August continue, here with a look at the hurdles and steeplechase events.</p>
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/watch/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a70cd89e571c58c3e2f703e.jpg" alt="WU20 Oregon 26 watch live" /></a>
<h2>Men's 110m hurdles</h2>
<p>Ja&rsquo;Kobe Tharp won the 110m hurdles in Lima for USA in 2024 and two years later he set the world record at just 20 years old. USA looks primed to maintain its dominance, as the two athletes in the field to have broken 13 seconds are both racing for the host nation.</p>
<p>Zacchaeus Brocks and Le'Ezra Brown went head to head at Hayward Field not too long ago at the US U20 championships. Brown won his heat in 12.95 &ndash; a North American U20 record that moved him to second on the world U20 all-time list &ndash; but Brocks made his mark on the final. Upsetting Brown, he won in 12.98 in photo-finish fashion, becoming the first high schooler to break the 13-second barrier.</p>
<p>Japan's Jeremy Koga will also be in consideration for the podium after clocking 13.05 to win the Asian U20 title, along with Norway's Anthony Ommundsen Johnsen and South African Jayden Parkin.</p>
<h2>Women's 100m hurdles</h2>
<p>Madeline Cooper, Tumi Ramokgopa, Jil Sanchez and Tiana Marshall all head into this race having bettered 13 seconds this season &ndash; an impressive line-up considering the winner at the last edition of this event in Lima in 2024, Kerrica Hill, won in 12.99. This will no doubt lead to a nail-biter of a race that comes down to the last hurdle.</p>
<p>Cooper holds the best time of the four, posting a blistering 12.91 in June to win the US title at Hayward Field. Now she will return to a familiar location with even steeper competition.</p>
<p>Ramokgopa most recently ran 12.96 in Pretoria in April and before that she clocked 12.93 to win the South African U20 title in March, becoming the second African U20 athlete ever to break 13 seconds after Tobi Amusan with 12.83 in 2016.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Switzerland&rsquo;s European U20 champion Sanchez has clocked 12.96, while Marshall will want to retain the title for Jamaica after clocking 12.98 in the heats at the Boys and Girls Championships before winning the final. She also won the CARIFTA Games and national U20 titles.</p>
<h2>Men's 400m hurdles</h2>
<p>Michal Rada was just 0.04 behind the champion, Vance Nilsson, at the World U20 Championships in 2024. Since then, he has only added to his medal collection. The Czech U20 record-holder ran 48.78 to secure a European U20 gold medal in 2025, while also taking home gold for his nation in the 4x400m.</p>
<p>If he hopes to secure gold this year at Hayward Field, he will have to outrun the young Japanese talent Taiju Goto. Goto broke his own world U18 best with 48.09 in June, becoming the Japanese champion while competing against senior athletes at the age of 17. He has the leading season&rsquo;s best among the entries and plenty of momentum, having also won the Asian U20 title in May.</p>
<p>Matodzi Ndo is another name that makes this race so enticing. Ndo set a South African U20 record of 48.64 at his national championships in March, positioning himself as a major contender in Oregon.</p>
<p>Keenen Davis and Miller Warme compete for the host nation, looking to retain the title for USA.</p>
<h2>Women's 400m hurdles</h2>
<p>Tumi Ramokgopa headlines both hurdles groups for women as a rising star for South African track and field. In the same competition that she clocked 12.93 in the 100m hurdles &ndash; the South African U20 Championships &ndash; she completed the hurdles sweep by running 56.05 in the 400m hurdles to secure her second gold medal.</p>
<p>However, her competition will push her to her limits. Romania&rsquo;s Alexandra Ștefania Uță was the youngest athlete to win a medal at the 2023 European U20 Championships at the age of 15. She put on an even greater performance during the 2025 edition, setting a championship record of 55.55, the fastest PB among the entries in Oregon. This year she has clocked 56.09.</p>
<p>The USA will be represented by Natalie Dumas, who clocked 56.13 in June to take home gold at the national U20 championships. Her PB also dips below 56 seconds; she ran 55.99 in 2025 to win the New Balance Outdoor Nationals, setting a meeting record.</p>
<p>Ramokgopa will be joined in Oregon by her 17-year-old compatriot Megan Nieman, who won the South African U18 Championships in 56.54 in March.</p>
<h2>Men's 3000m steeplechase</h2>
<p>Although Ethiopia and Kenya have dominated this podium in the past, this year a new team is on the rise: Spain. The nation has two athletes sitting at the top of the entry list, Bakr El Asri and Marti Torregrossa.&nbsp;</p>
<p>El Asri is the oldest runner set to compete in this race, being born in January of 2007, and is also the only athlete in the field to have bettered 8:30 thanks to his PB of 8:24.40 set in June.</p>
<p>Kenya will still show up, however, in the form of Emmanuel Lemiso and Nicholas Kitum. Lemiso won the Kenyan trials with a PB of 8:35.30, and he teams up with Kitum to try and retain Kenya's title.</p>
<p>France's Basile Astier will also be a name to look out for.</p>
<h2>Women's 3000m steeplechase</h2>
<p>After running a PB last year of 9:20.83 &ndash; the fastest time among the entries by more than five seconds &ndash; Wosane Asefa has not been able to reproduce a steeplechase performance of the same magnitude since. The Ethiopian 19-year-old did, however, secure silver at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January and she finished fourth in the 3000m steeplechase at the African Championships in a season&rsquo;s best of 9:41.76 in May.</p>
<p>She will be joined in Oregon by athletes eager to take the steeplechase crown back to their home country. Mercy Chepngeno Koskey and Anatasha Cheptoo will be looking to reclaim the title for Kenya &ndash; last won in 2022 in Cali by the now world champion and Olympic bronze medallist Faith Cherotich. Koskey claimed African silver in May, finishing two places ahead of Asefa and running a world U20-leading PB of 9:30.47, while Cheptoo ran 9:33.80 in her most recent race in Nairobi in June.</p>
<p>Almaz Yohannis also clinched a medal at the African Championships, beating her compatriot Asefa to the bronze. They all clash again in Oregon, along with Ema Berkov&aacute; and Anna Svrček, who have both also dipped under 10 minutes this season.</p>
<p><strong>Colin Ernst for the World Athletics Media Academy</strong></p>
</div>

World Athletics U20 Championships

A look at the top contenders set to show up for the hurdles and steeplechase events at Hayward Field.

WU20 Oregon 26 preview: hurdles and steeplechase

<p>The world&rsquo;s leading teenage sprinters will battle for medals in six relay disciplines at the <strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26</strong>, taking place at Hayward Field from 5-9 August, with the mixed 4x100m set to make its championships debut.</p>
<p>Here we take a look at the leading prospects in the men&rsquo;s, women&rsquo;s and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m.</p>
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/watch/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a70cd89e571c58c3e2f703e.jpg" alt="WU20 Oregon 26 watch live" /></a>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 4x100m</h2>
<p>Jamaica will be looking to retain the title they won in Lima two years ago. Their squad includes Gary Card, the world U20 100m leader this year with a Jamaican U20 record of 9.93, alongside Nathaniel Martin, Sanjay Seymore, Justin Stewart, Nyrone Wade and Dontae Watson. Card and Wade were members of the Jamaican quartet that won the 2024 title.</p>
<p>Hosts USA will be another team to watch, with Tate Taylor, Kyler Brown and Dillon Mitchell &ndash; owner of a wind-assisted 9.92 clocking this year &ndash; among their relay options.</p>
<p>Great Britain, who finished just 0.02 behind Jamaica in Lima two years ago, should also contend. Australia could also mount a challenge. Their relay pool includes Paul Ehioghae, Kelechi Ekwomadu, Dylan Hall, Josiah John, Hugh Kabengele, Uwezo Lubenda and Zavier Peacock.</p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 4x100m</h2>
<p>Jamaica has won this title at the past three editions of the World U20 Championships. They broke the world U20 record with 42.59 in Cali in 2022 and retained the title in Lima two years later, winning by 0.67.</p>
<p>Shanoya Douglas, who formed part of the winning quartet in Lima, returns for Oregon. The world U20 200m bronze medallist leads this year&rsquo;s world U20 lists in both the 100m (10.98) and 200m (22.11). Jamaica&rsquo;s relay pool also includes Samoya Brown, Natrece East, Renecia Edwards, Tiana Marshall and Theianna-Lee Terrelonge.</p>
<p>Aster Jones, Sanyah Keeton and Ava Kitchings are among the options for the USA, while Switzerland should again challenge after claiming silver in Lima. Timea Rankl, Carina Stettler and Joy Umegbolu are part of the Swiss squad.</p>
<p>Switzerland, Jamaica and Germany have all broken 44 seconds this year. Switzerland lead the entered teams on this season&rsquo;s form with 43.32, while Jamaica have clocked 43.76 and Germany 43.92.</p>
<h2>Mixed 4x100m</h2>
<p>The mixed 4x100m will make its World U20 Championships debut in Oregon, meaning the first championship records in the discipline will be established.</p>
<p>Given Jamaica&rsquo;s strength in both the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 4x100m, they should be a formidable team. Sanjay Seymore, Kyle Bodden and Detarje Morgan are among their men&rsquo;s options, while Sashana Johnson, Natrece East and Renecia Edwards feature in the women&rsquo;s pool.</p>
<p>Italy and Great Britain should also be contenders. Italy arrive with the fastest entry mark of 41.75, set in Rome in May by Leonardo Pratali, Elisa Calzolari, Francesco Pagliarini and European U18 and U20 champion Kelly Doualla. All four are entered for the championships.</p>
<p>Great Britain have run 42.21 this year and will also hope to challenge for a place on the podium.</p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 4x400m</h2>
<p>The USA have won the men&rsquo;s 4x400m at the past two editions. They clocked 3:03.56 to retain their title in Lima, finishing comfortably ahead of South Africa and Australia.</p>
<p>Quincy Wilson, who won Olympic gold in 2024 as part of the USA&rsquo;s 4x400m team, will have his eye on both individual and relay glory in Oregon. Cameron Tucker, Alexander Osayemi, Joshua Shelton and Jaelen Hunter are among the USA&rsquo;s other relay squad members.</p>
<p>South Africa&rsquo;s pool includes Leendert Koekemoer, Ryno Riekert, Kryn Romijn and Abelines Schoeman. Koekemoer has run 44.94 this year and was part of the senior South African team that clocked a national record of 2:55.07 at the World Athletics Relays in May. Romijn, meanwhile, was part of South Africa&rsquo;s silver-medal-winning squad in Lima.</p>
<p>Australia will again aim to challenge, with Chase Grant, Fred Hamblin, Seth Kennedy, Olly McDonald, Dashiell Muir and Dylan Ruming among their pool.</p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 4x400m</h2>
<p>The USA won the women&rsquo;s 4x400m in Lima, clocking 3:30.74 to finish 0.73 ahead of Australia. Olivia Harris returns from that winning squad and is joined in the relay pool by individual 400m representatives Ataja Stephane-Vazquez and Clara Adams, as well as Natalie Dumas and Sydney Kuhn.</p>
<p>Australia should again be in contention. Their squad includes Samara Bond, Alice Hill, Shari Hurdman, Naomi Krajancic, Charlotte McAuliffe and Xanthee Watts.</p>
<p>Jamaica&rsquo;s options include Davine Dickenson, Daniellia Dixon, Kristen Herbert, Sashana Johnson, Shanika Lindsay and Shameika McLean.</p>
<p>Great Britain should also challenge, with Camiah Bennett, Lucia Bertacchini, Darcy Coslett, Caitlin Hadfield, Casey Musgrave and Shiloh Omotosho forming their relay pool.</p>
<h2>Mixed 4x400m</h2>
<p>The USA hold the fastest time ever achieved by an U20 team in a mixed 4x400m, having clocked 3:17.69 to win the 2022 world U20 title in Cali.</p>
<p>With a strong pool of relay runners, combined with home crowd advantage, the hosts will start as the pre-race favourites in Oregon.</p>
<p>Australia are the defending champions, however, after winning in Lima two years ago in 3:19.27. Poland finished second in 3:20.44, 1.17 behind the Australian quartet.</p>
<p>Australia&rsquo;s options in Oregon include Samara Bond, Shari Hurdman, Charlotte McAuliffe, Fred Hamblin, Olly McDonald and Dashiell Muir. Ade Lloyd, Carlo Johnson, Ashtyn Lewis and Taylor-Nicole Overton are among those in contention for the USA.</p>
<p>Jamaica, India and Germany all made the final in Lima and could again feature in the battle for the medals.</p>
<p><strong>Ash Wehrly for the World Athletics Media Academy</strong></p>
</div>

The world’s leading teenage sprinters will battle for medals in six relay disciplines at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

WU20 Oregon 26 preview: relays

<p>Some of the fastest U20 sprinters of all time will be in action when the <strong>World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26</strong> takes place at Hayward Field from 5-9 August.</p>
<p>Here we take a look at the women&rsquo;s and men&rsquo;s 100m, 200m and 400m.</p>
<div><a href="https://worldathletics.org/watch/live" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a70cd89e571c58c3e2f703e.jpg" alt="WU20 Oregon 26 watch live" /></a>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 100m</h2>
<p>All eyes will be on Jamaica&rsquo;s world U20 leader Shanoya Douglas, the world U20 200m bronze medallist and 4x100m champion in Lima two years ago. The 18-year-old lines up in Oregon as the sole athlete to have broken 11 seconds, her PB of 10.98 in Kingston in March moving her into the world all-time top 10. Unbeaten this year, and after winning 100m and 200m doubles at the Jamaican U20 Championships, Boys and Girls Championships and CARIFTA Games, Douglas will have her eyes set on multiple golds in Oregon.</p>
<p>Challenging her will be the Maxwell twins, Mia and Mariah, who claimed a 1-2 in the 100m and 200m at the US U20 Championships. Mia starts with a PB of 11.04 and Mariah with 11.11 and they will both be on the hunt for medals on home soil.</p>
<p>Guyana&rsquo;s Athaleyha Hinckson sits between the twins on the entry list with a best of 11.10. This small-nation breakout star set a South American U20 60m record in February and will be ready to keep pushing in Oregon. Switzerland&rsquo;s Xenia Buri ran 11.13 in June, while Italy&rsquo;s 16-year-old Kelly Doualla was just 0.01 off that mark with the area U18 best she set to win her European U18 title in July.</p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 100m</h2>
<p>Gary Card leads the entries as the sole athlete with a time below 10 seconds. His 9.93 at the Jamaican Championships in June was a national U20 record that moved him to joint third on the world U20 all-time list. He looks in form to improve on his sixth place in this event at the last edition of the World U20 Championships.</p>
<p>USA&rsquo;s Tate Taylor and South Africa&rsquo;s Marko Ferreira have both set a personal best of 10.04 this season. Taylor looks to be a true double threat after taking home gold in both the 100m and 200m at the US U20 Championships at Hayward Field in early June. It will be a familiar ground for Taylor heading into this event.&nbsp; &nbsp;</p>
<p>Ferreira is the third-fastest South African U20 in history behind Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana, both world U20 100m medallists two years ago in Lima. Only Walaza has broken 10 seconds and Ferreira states that is his target for Oregon.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Like Card, Great Britain&rsquo;s Jake Odey-Jordan also returns to the World U20 Championships stage, two years on from claiming 200m bronze. He ran a PB of 10.07 in Tokyo in May.</p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 200m</h2>
<p>Jamaica is on top again. Shanoya Douglas holds the Jamaican U20 record in the 200m after running 22.11 at the CARIFTA Games, advancing to joint-third on the world U20 all-time list. Lining up as a medallist from Lima in 2024, Douglas is anticipated to return even better.</p>
<p>She will be tested by the Maxwell twins once again. The dynamic duo from Texas have spent the season trading the top two national spots. Between the sisters, it is anybody&rsquo;s game. While Mia won both events at the US U20 Championships, Mariah was close behind and they have respectively run 22.49 and 22.44 this season.</p>
<p>Nigeria&rsquo;s Oluebube Ezechukwu and Oghene Success Oyibu have also run under 23 seconds. Ezechukwu is a rising name in Nigerian sprinting and the 17-year-old heads to Oregon just a few days after competing at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.&nbsp;</p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 200m</h2>
<p>Tate Taylor is currently the talk of track in the 200m. From taking home golds for both the 100m and 200m at the US U20 Championships to beating Olympic champion Letsile Tebogo at the Prefontaine Classic, the 18-year-old has broken multiple national high school records and has climbed up the world all-time list to become the third U20 performer in history, ahead of Usain Bolt, with 19.75 at the Pre Classic at Hayward Field.</p>
<p>Blake Hamilton ran a wind-aided 19.86 in Texas and backed it up with a legal 20.02 to finish second to Taylor at the national championships held on the same Eugene track as the World U20 Championships.</p>
<p>Jamaica&rsquo;s Gary Card starts with a 20.28 PB, second on the Jamaican U20 all-time list behind only Usain Bolt. Great Britain&rsquo;s Jake Odey-Jordan is also entered for this event after getting world U20 bronze last time.</p>
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 400m</h2>
<p>United States&rsquo; Ataja Stephanie-Vazquez only started to get serious about track in 2024. She dropped four seconds in one summer and took home gold at the US U20 Championships after finishing sixth there the year before. Her 51.08 PB heads the entry list.</p>
<p>Ethiopian record-holder Ajayeba Aliye is the real international heavyweight in the field. The 19-year-old ran 51.37 to win the African title in Accra in May and claimed an Ethiopian 200m and 400m title double in March.</p>
<p>Following is Clara Adams, the US U20 silver medallist behind Stephanie-Vazquez at Hayward Field. Adams ran a PB of 51.61 to claim that medal.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Other contenders include Poland&rsquo;s Anastazja Kuś who formed part of Poland&rsquo;s 2025 world indoor silver medal-winning 4x400m team and who set a PB of 51.64 in June. Guyana&rsquo;s CARIFTA Games champion Tianna Springer will also want to make an impact.</p>
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 400m</h2>
<p>This will be a highly anticipated rematch following the US U20 Championships. Jayden Deleon upset the more decorated Quincy Wilson at Hayward Field, running the second-fastest 400m ever by a US high schooler &ndash; 44.52.</p>
<p>Wilson, the established face of US U20 quarter-miling and owner of a 44.10 PB, will want to rebound on the Hayward track.</p>
<p>United Arab Emirates&rsquo; Suleiman Abdulrahman is just 0.01 behind Wilson this season &ndash; 44.84 to 44.85. Abdulrahman became the first man in Asian U20 Championships history to break 45 seconds, upsetting the Qatari favourites for gold in Hong Kong.&nbsp;</p>
<p>Malachi Austin completed a 400m double for Guyana at the CARIFTA Games and lines up as the South American U20 record-holder after running 44.87 in May.</p>
<p>Leendert Koekemoer brings global championship experience with him to Oregon as he formed part of South Africa&rsquo;s world bronze medal-winning 4x400m squad in Tokyo last year. He has also dipped under 45 seconds this year.</p>
<p><strong>Sofiah Gravley for the World Athletics Media Academy</strong></p>
</div>

Some of the fastest U20 sprinters of all time will be in action when the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 takes place from 5-9 August.

WU20 Oregon 26 preview: sprints

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<p style="text-align: center;">The future of track &amp; field takes centre stage as the world&rsquo;s top rising stars battle for gold at the World Athletics U20 Championships on 5-9 August.</p>
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