China’s Zhang Jiale (© Oscar Munoz Badilla for World Athletics)
Nearly 40 U20 athletes reached the field of play representing 29 countries at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 with two individual medals highlighting the U20 field.
In the women’s hammer throw, China’s rising star, Jiale Zhang put together a series well beyond her years to become the youngest-ever medalist in the event. The 18-year-old thrower, who was third at the World Athletics U20 championships in Lima last year, won the Chinese National Championships in August with a world U20 record* 77.24m throw. In Tokyo, Zhang managed a 72.02m toss for a comfortable qualification to the final, where she went on to land three throws over 74m. Her bronze medal attempt of 77.10m came in the final round, solidifying her position on the podium behind teammate Jie Zhao and Canadian gold medalist Camryn Rogers.
Kenya’s Edmund Serem, who made his name known on the Diamond League circuit this year, was a favorite going into the men’s steeplechase final, but had to face the most competitive field he’d seen in his career. The 17-year-old did not shy away from the tactics of a more seasoned field. He set the pace alongside Germany’s Frederik Ruppert through the first half of the race until USA’s Daniel Michalski pushed the lead pack’s pace as they reached the final 800m. Geordie Beamish led a sprint to the finish and Serem was able to hold on to bronze behind Beamish’s winning 8:33.88 and two-time Olympic champion Soufiane El Bakkali’s 8:33.95. Serem’s 8:34.56 was good for bronze in his first global championship showing.
In the heats of the men’s 4x400m, 19-year-old Kai Liu split 44.87 to lead a Chinese quartet to a national record of 3:00.77. This came after splitting 45.30 as the third leg of the mixed relay, which clocked a 3:13.96 for 14th overall.
Portugal’s Pedro Afonso ran an impressive 44.46 lead leg in the men’s 4x400m heats to put his squad in position to break their national record. The quartet clocked a 2:59.70 to move on to the rainy final, where Afonso once again ran the first leg of the 3:09.06 ninth-place finish.
Leendert Koekemoer of South Africa walks away from the Championships as a bronze medalist, having run a 45.17 split in the heats of the men’s 4x400m to help solidify South Africa’s lane in the final. Koekemoer’s teammates went on to clock a 2:57.83 for bronze in a dramatic final.
*pending the usual ratification procedures by World Athletics.
Full results of the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25 can be found here.