Mia Maxwell at the Lone Star Grand Prix (© Errol Anderson)
Sprint doubles by Mia Maxwell and Tate Taylor plus a series of 110m hurdles records were among the highlights at the US U20 Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
Held as part of the Nike Outdoor Nationals from 18-22 June at Hayward Field, athletes were keen to make their mark at the venue that will host the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 in August.
In the race for host nation World U20 Championships places, Ja'Shaun Lloyd was the first of the US U20 record-breakers in the 110m hurdles as he won his heat in 13.04 (0.2m/s) to improve on the previous record of 13.05 held by the now senior world record-holder Ja'Kobe Tharp.
But it didn’t stand long as Le'Ezra Brown won the next heat in 12.95 (-0.6m/s) – a North American U20 record that moved him to second on the world U20 all-time list.
Brown narrowly lost the final to Zacchaeus Brocks as they both clocked 12.98 (0.5m/s) – moving Brocks to joint fifth on the world U20 all-time list – and were separated by just two thousandths of a second. Lloyd was third in 13.01, also placing him in the all-time top 10.
USA’s Taylor was another athlete to launch himself up the world U20 all-time list, winning the 200m in 19.94 (0.8m/s) to become the fourth-fastest U20 200m sprinter in history. That completed the 18-year-old’s national title double, following his 100m win in 10.15 (-1.3m/s) the day before. Blake Hamilton finished second in the 200m in 20.02, while Kyler Brown was runner-up in the 100m in 10.21.
Taylor went on to finish second in the Outdoor Nationals 100m, running 10.10 (1.3m/s) in a race won by his training partner Jake Odey-Jordan of Great Britain in a European U20 record of 10.01. The World U20 Championships in Oregon offers Odey-Jordan the chance to build on the 200m bronze and 4x100m silver he claimed as a 16-year-old at the last edition of the championships in Lima in 2024 and Taylor could be one of his main rivals.
USA’s Mia Maxwell and her twin sister Mariah secured the top two spots in the 100m and the 200m. Mia clocked 11.08 (0.8m/s) to win the shorter sprint before completing the double by claiming the 200m crown in 22.49 (0.0m/s), just 0.01 off the championship record. Mariah was runner-up in 11.33 and 22.86, respectively.
Jayden DeLeon improved his PB by almost a second to 44.52, a championship record, to win the 400m ahead of Quincy Wilson (44.84), while Atajas Stephanie-Vazquez ran a PB of 51.08 to secure her 400m title.
Claire Stegall won the 1500m in a championship record of 4:04.59, moving her to second on the US U20 all-time list, while Hannah Grace cleared 4.45m to win the pole vault and secure her team spot for a second World U20 Championships following her fourth place in Lima two years ago.
Jaslene Massey achieved a throws double, winning the discus with a PB of 60.27m to move to third on the US U20 all-time list and then throwing another PB of 16.88m to win the shot put. She went on to also win both events as part of the Outdoor Nationals competition.
The US U20 Championships, which took place on the first two days of the Outdoor Nationals, served as the host nation’s selection event for the World U20 Championships. The top two finishers in each event who have achieved the qualifying standard will be selected for the global championships, taking place from 5-9 August.
