Sophie Thomas anchors Great Britain to a world U20 mixed 4x100m record in Oregon (© Getty Images)
- World U20 mixed 4x100m record set by Australia and improved by Great Britain in heats
- Enni Virjonen retains heptathlon lead with one event to go
- Jayden Deleon, Quincy Wilson and Leendert Koekemoer progress in 400m
Two world U20 records were set as the U20 mixed 4x100m made its global debut on the second morning of competition at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on Thursday (6).
Things got off to an electrifying start as Australia’s Uwezo Lubenda, Maya Taber, Kelechi Ekwomadu and Thewbelle Philp set a world U20 record of 41.64 in the first heat. But that mark didn’t last long as the Great Britain & NI team of Divine Iheme, Savannah Mckenzie Morgan, Mathew Ajayi and Sophie Thomas won the second heat in a world U20 record of their own – 41.60.
Italy finished second to Australia in the first heat in 41.74, while USA won the third heat in 41.82. Other teams to watch in the final will be Nigeria and Jamaica, who respectively clocked 41.91 and 42.08.
These record-breaking performances have set the scene for a highly anticipated final on Saturday evening.
Virjonen heads heptathlon
Finland’s world U20 leader Enni Virjonen continues to top the heptathlon standings with 5353 with one event to go, after landing a 6.29m jump and 43.65m javelin throw. Great Britain’s Thea Brown moved into second place on 5184 as she topped the long jump with 6.39m and set a javelin PB of 35.46m.
Estonia’s Mia Mireia Uusorg jumped up to third place on 5053 after placing second in the javelin (45.30m), while Portugal’s Natacha Candé retained fourth place and Switzerland's Anna Pfister moved up to fifth place after performing best overall in the javelin with a PB of 47.17m. France’s Zola Ndouma-Mona was in third place following her 6.16m in the long jump but she did not return for the javelin throw.
Deleon, Wilson and Koekemoer advance
US U20 champion Jayden Deleon led the first round of the men’s 400m, clocking 45.63. USA’s Olympic champion Quincy Wilson won his heat in 45.74, while South Africa’s world 4x400m bronze medallist Leendert Koekemoer cruised to his own heat win in 45.75. India’s Mohammed Ashfaq set a national U20 record of 45.81m.
US U20 gold medallist Ataja Stephane-Vazquez started off strong in the first round of the women’s event, running 51.44. Guyana’s Tianna Springer won her heat in 52.39, while Poland’s European U18 champion and 2025 world indoor 4x400m silver medallist Anastazja Kuś was another heat winner in 52.55.
United Arab Emirates’ Mariam Kareem got a good start in the 400m hurdles, topping the heats in 57.87. Germany’s Rebekka Feirle won the final heat in 57.89, while Romania’s Alexandra Ștefania Uță ran 57.93. They will be joined in the semifinals by South Africa’s Tumi Ramokgopa, who started the event top of the entries, as well as Jamaica’s Marria Crossfield and Shevaughn Thomas, who repectively ran PBs of 58.22 and 58.36.
After ending as the runner-up in the US U20 Championships in June, Miller Warme led the heats for the men’s event in 49.88, putting him in a good position for the semifinals. Taiju Goto was the second-quickest in the heats with 50.45. Also among the leading contenders is Czechia’s Michael Rada, who ran a comfortable race in 50.68.
Kenya continues to dominate the 3000m steeplechase, with Nicholas Kitum Losiwareng getting off to a strong start, leading the heats in 8:45.26. He was followed in heat one by Tunisia’s Mohamed Ali Hamdi, who set a PB of 8:47.76. Kenyan trials winner Emmanuel Lemiso Someki led heat two in 8:47.61, while Mahfoud Bellal was second in that race in 8:48.48.
Oji top shot in qualification
The qualification round of the women’s shot put built excitement for the final this evening. After winning silver at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Nigeria’s Jessica Oji threw 17.56m to top the field, while Ecuador’s Ibero-American Championships silver medallist Belsy Jenniffer Quiñonez followed with a throw of 17.25m.
Germany’s Emily Scherf was another automatic qualifier with a 16.58m throw, while Fiji’s Maryann Macedru was also among the leading athletes with 16.04m, improving her PB by more than a metre. USA’s Jaslene Massey and Jamaica’s Able Deborah Mills also qualified for the final – their second final after the also qualified in the discus.
Algeria’s Younes Ayachi arrived in Eugene as the world U20 high jump leader after clearing a best of 2.28m earlier this year. He was one of 13 athletes to clear 2.14m during the qualifying round to progress to the final. Switzerland’s Léo Courtine and Poland’s Dawid Barański set PBs at that height to also progress.
USA’s Miles Nesmith led during the triple jump qualification round with a PB jump of 16.41m. China’s Asian U20 champion Wang Zhuoyue also hit the automatic qualification mark with 16.07m, while Italy’s European U20 champion Francesco Efeosa Crotti jumped 16.05m, Nigeria’s Precious Ebitimi Opinion set a PB of 16.02m and Jamaica’s Michael-Andre Matthew Edwards jumped 16.00m.
Sandra Vasquez-Ramirez for the World Athletics Media Academy
