The world&rsquo;s leading teenage distance runners will race for medals across eight disciplines at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 at Hayward Field from 5-9 August.
Here we will get a glimpse of what to expect in the 800m, 1500m, 3000m and 5000m taking place over five days of competition.
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<h2>Women&rsquo;s 800m</h2>
Following the withdrawal of British Olympian Phoebe Gill due to an ongoing knee issue, Slovenia&rsquo;s Živa Remic tops the entry list. The 16-year-old is one of the youngest in the event but she has already run 1:59.64 &ndash; a national U18 record. Remic has an impressive collection of medals already. She set a championship record to win the European U18 title in Rieti last month, adding that medal to her silver from last year&rsquo;s European U20 Championships and two national titles.
Another athlete to watch is Ethiopia&rsquo;s Habtam Gebeyehu, who ran 1:59.72 to finish third at the Kip Keino Classic in Kenya in April. Nancy Jepngetich ran 2:00.18 to win at the Kenyan trials and prepares to make her major championships debut in Oregon.
Morocco&rsquo;s Saida El-Bouzy returns to the World U20 Championships stage after finishing eighth in the 1500m in Lima two years ago, while 16-year-old Paige Sheppard races for the host nation after winning the US U20 title at Hayward Field. Both El-Bouzy and Sheppard have run below 2:01 this season.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 800m</h2>
Only one hundredth of a second separates the season&rsquo;s best times of the top two athletes entered for the men&rsquo;s 800m. Australia&rsquo;s Daniel Williams, who will celebrate his 19th birthday two days ahead of the competition on 3 August, is at the top with his 1:44.37 PB from the Adelaide Invitational in March. Williams is no stranger to Hayward Field, having competed in the promotional 800m at the Prefontaine Classic in early July.&nbsp;
That experience could give him the edge over African silver medallist Imad Bouchajda but the 19-year-old from Morocco will be looking to close the one-hundredth-of-a-second gap following his 1:44.38 PB at the Moroccan U20 Championships in early July. Bouchajda is also entered for the 1500m in Oregon.
Nashon Pkiach races for the first time outside of Kenya after winning his nation&rsquo;s trial event in 1:46.17. That followed his 1:47.15 in the Kip Keino Classic U20 800m in April.
What makes this event even more competitive is the fact that three athletes start with identical PBs set this year as both Benjamin Lako&scaron;eljac of Slovenia and US U20 champion Stefon Dodoo have matched Pkiach&rsquo;s time.&nbsp;
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 1500m</h2>
The top of the field is dominated by four 17-year-old athletes: Haregeweyni Kalayu and Elsabet Amare from Ethiopia, Caren Chepchirchir of Kenya and Ellery Lincoln from the USA.
Kalayu has the best time of the four with the PB of 3:59.28 she set to finish second in Rabat in May during one of her five Wanda Diamond League appearances so far this season. Her compatriot Amare ran 4:01.32 in Montreuil, France, in June.
Kalayu will recognise her competition as she raced Chepchirchir in Rabat, the Kenyan athlete running a PB of 4:03.91 that day.
Lincoln returns to Hayward field, her future home track as a University of Oregon student, following her stellar Prefontaine Classic debut in early July. She ran a PB of 4:07.06 to place eighth in a race against the pros &ndash; a time that puts her a couple of seconds away from the 4:04.43 achieved by her mother Sarah Schwald, an NCAA indoor 3000m champion in 1995 who made her international debut at the World U20 Championships in Plovdiv in 1990.
Another talented athlete out of the USA who will be in medal contention is 19-year-old Claire Stegall who edged Lincoln to take the national U20 title at Hayward Field in a PB of 4:04.59.
Morocco&rsquo;s Saida El-Bouzy, who is also entered for the 800m, will be looking to build on her eighth place in this event in Lima two years ago.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 1500m</h2>
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Destaw Tade and Qatar&rsquo;s Mohamed Wahid Torech meet again after racing in Li&egrave;ge, Belgium, in July. The 18-year-olds ran PBs of 3:36.41 and 3:36.96, respectively, in that race to place seventh and 10th, competing against a much older field.&nbsp;
Tade seeks another U20 medal following his win at the Ethiopian U20 Championships in April, while Torech will want to build on his series of sub-3:40 performances this season.
Ojiro Honda, the 19-year-old from Japan, looks to continue his progress in 2026 after recording a PB of 3:37.53 in the heats at the Japanese Championships before finishing second in the final. He returns to the United States after running in the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January.
David Kapaiko Sekento finished second at the Kenyan trials for this event and the 16-year-old went on to run a PB of 3:38.45.
Filip Toul of Czechia turns 19 just three days before the competition begins and will be looking to take home a medal as a belated birthday present to himself. He set a 1500m PB of 3:38.62 en route to a 3:55.68 mile at the Ostrava Golden Spike on home soil in June.
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 3000m</h2>
Uganda&rsquo;s Charity Cherop leads the field after running a PB of 8:39.22 during the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Oslo in June. She also has the benefit of global experience as she is appearing in her second World U20 Championships after claiming 5000m silver from Lima in 2024. She also earned bronze at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee in January. The 19-year-old is also entered for the 5000m in Oregon.&nbsp;
Shito Gumi, who is also 19 years old and hails from Ethiopia, ran 8:41.18 indoors in February. She will clash with Cherop for the second time in international competition after they were separated by two places at the 2024 World Cross Country Championships in Belgrade. Nigsti Molla, who has run 8:44.75, and Yordanos Tsigab, who has clocked 8:56.83, are also entered for Ethiopia, but one will be a reserve, with only two athletes per federation permitted to race.&nbsp;
Sweden&rsquo;s Carmen Cernjul sits between Molla and Tsigab on the entry list with her PB of 8:54.26. A double European U20 silver medallist in the 1500m and 3000m, Cernjul is also entered for the 1500m and 5000m in Oregon.
Joining Cherop from Uganda is 18-year-old Bentalin Yeko, who ran 8:57.07 in April. Yeko competed in the 3000m at the 2024 World U20 Championships in Lima, where she placed seventh. Like Cherop and Cernjul, she is also entered in the 5000m in Oregon.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 3000m</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s 17-year-old Emmanuel Kiprono will want to continue an impressive run of form after claiming world U20 cross-country silver in Tallahassee before winning the U20 race at the Kip Keino Classic and the trial race for the World U20 Championships, the latter in a PB of 7:35.40.
Second in the field is 2024 European U18 1500m bronze medallist Alois Abraham, the 18-year-old from France who ran 7:46.78 on home soil in June.
Australia's Charles Barrett, Aleksi Ahlfors of Finland and Magnus &Oslash;yen of Norway are all separated by less than a second on PBs set this season &ndash; Barrett with 7:51.95, Ahlfors with 7:52.18 and &Oslash;yen with an indoor performance of 7:52.67.
Japan&rsquo;s Ojiro Honda and Czechia&rsquo;s Filip Toul are also entered for the 3000m as well as the 1500m.
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 5000m</h2>
Uganda&rsquo;s Charity Cherop will be looking to improve her silver medal from this event at the 2024 World U20 Championships in Lima. She ran a national record of 14:39.38 during the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Shaoxing/Keqiao and started her year with bronze at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee.
As she does in the 3000m, Ethiopia&rsquo;s Shito Gumi sits second to Cherop on the entry list thanks to the PB of 14:49.66 she set in Li&egrave;ge last month.
Carmen Cernjul of Sweden is another athlete named for multiple events &ndash; the 1500m, 3000m, and 5000m. The double European U20 medallist has run 15:06.71 for the 5000m this year.
Gumi&rsquo;s compatriot Emebet Tilahun clocked 15:14.88 in Li&egrave;ge and was runner-up at the Ethiopian U20 Championships, while 17-year-old Cynthia Chepkirui will be looking to build on her fourth-place finish at the World Cross Country Championships in Tallahassee to take home a medal for Kenya.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 5000m</h2>
Kenya&rsquo;s Frankline Kibet returns to the USA on the hunt for another title to go with his world cross-country crown from Tallahassee in January. The 19-year-old ran 13:08.32 when making his Diamond League debut in Paris in June, a performance 12 seconds faster than any of his rivals have ever run.
Japan&rsquo;s Yota Mashiko and Ryo Kurimura will also be strong contenders for a medal. Mashiko, who turns 19 two days before the start of the competition, and Kurimura, also 19 years old, have respectively run 13:20.35 and 13:21.99 this year. Kurimura went on to win the Asian U20 title in Hong Kong.
Kibet is joined on the Kenyan team by Nehemiah Kipngeno, who finished behind Mashiko and Kurimura in Nobeoka in May and who ran a PB of 13:22.90, also in Japan, in April before winning the Kenyan trial race for the championships.
We can expect fireworks from this race and Norway&rsquo;s Magnus &Oslash;yen will want to challenge for his first global medal after getting European U20 bronze last year.
Nicole Montello for the World Athletics Media Academy
</div>

World Athletics U20 Championships

The world’s leading distance runners will race for medals across eight disciplines at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

WU20 Oregon 26 preview: distance

Previews for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on 5-9 August continue, here with a look at the hurdles and steeplechase events.
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<h2>Men's 110m hurdles</h2>
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.
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.
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.
<h2>Women's 100m hurdles</h2>
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.
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.
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;
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.
<h2>Men's 400m hurdles</h2>
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.
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.
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.
Keenen Davis and Miller Warme compete for the host nation, looking to retain the title for USA.
<h2>Women's 400m hurdles</h2>
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.
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.
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.
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.
<h2>Men's 3000m steeplechase</h2>
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;
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.
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.
France's Basile Astier will also be a name to look out for.
<h2>Women's 3000m steeplechase</h2>
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.
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.
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.
Colin Ernst for the World Athletics Media Academy
</div>

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

The world&rsquo;s leading teenage sprinters will battle for medals in six relay disciplines at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26, taking place at Hayward Field from 5-9 August, with the mixed 4x100m set to make its championships debut.
Here we take a look at the leading prospects in the men&rsquo;s, women&rsquo;s and mixed 4x100m and 4x400m.
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<h2>Men&rsquo;s 4x100m</h2>
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.
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.
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.
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 4x100m</h2>
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.
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.
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.
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.
<h2>Mixed 4x100m</h2>
The mixed 4x100m will make its World U20 Championships debut in Oregon, meaning the first championship records in the discipline will be established.
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.
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.
Great Britain have run 42.21 this year and will also hope to challenge for a place on the podium.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 4x400m</h2>
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.
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.
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.
Australia will again aim to challenge, with Chase Grant, Fred Hamblin, Seth Kennedy, Olly McDonald, Dashiell Muir and Dylan Ruming among their pool.
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 4x400m</h2>
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.
Australia should again be in contention. Their squad includes Samara Bond, Alice Hill, Shari Hurdman, Naomi Krajancic, Charlotte McAuliffe and Xanthee Watts.
Jamaica&rsquo;s options include Davine Dickenson, Daniellia Dixon, Kristen Herbert, Sashana Johnson, Shanika Lindsay and Shameika McLean.
Great Britain should also challenge, with Camiah Bennett, Lucia Bertacchini, Darcy Coslett, Caitlin Hadfield, Casey Musgrave and Shiloh Omotosho forming their relay pool.
<h2>Mixed 4x400m</h2>
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.
With a strong pool of relay runners, combined with home crowd advantage, the hosts will start as the pre-race favourites in Oregon.
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.
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.
Jamaica, India and Germany all made the final in Lima and could again feature in the battle for the medals.
Ash Wehrly for the World Athletics Media Academy
</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

Some of the fastest U20 sprinters of all time will be in action when the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 takes place at Hayward Field from 5-9 August.
Here we take a look at the women&rsquo;s and men&rsquo;s 100m, 200m and 400m.
<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>
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.
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.
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.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 100m</h2>
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.
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;
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;
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.
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 200m</h2>
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.
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.
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;
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 200m</h2>
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.
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.
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.
<h2>Women&rsquo;s 400m</h2>
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.
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.
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;
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.
<h2>Men&rsquo;s 400m</h2>
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.
Wilson, the established face of US U20 quarter-miling and owner of a 44.10 PB, will want to rebound on the Hayward track.
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;
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.
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.
Sofiah Gravley for the World Athletics Media Academy
</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

More than 1800 athletes from 147 member federations are entered for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 taking place at Hayward Field between 5-9 August.
This means that as the sport celebrates 40 years of the World U20 Championships, the event looks set to welcome a record number of athletes. The previous record was 1558 athletes in Lima in 2024.
Download: &bull; <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6a6d03e1fc4ec3d39295f1c3.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by event and season's best</a> &bull; <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6a6d043c846307ef90259a54.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by event and federation</a> &bull; <a href="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/document/6a6d044c846307ef90259a55.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Entries by federation</a>
The entry lists include several medallists from the last edition of the World U20 Championships in Lima, including Jamaican sprinters Gary Card and Shanoya Douglas, world leaders in the men&rsquo;s U20 100m and women&rsquo;s 100m and 200m, respectively.
Australia&rsquo;s Izobelle Louison-Roe is also in action, looking to build on her high jump silver from two years ago, while Czechia&rsquo;s Michal Rada, Mexico&rsquo;s Emiliano Barba and Uganda&rsquo;s Charity Cherop are also among the entries after securing silver medals in Lima.
Kenya&rsquo;s Frankline Kibet, who won the world U20 cross-country title in Tallahassee in January, will return to the United States on the hunt for more silverware.
Home stars include Olympic 4x400m champion Quincy Wilson, double US U20 sprint champion Tate Taylor and twins Mia and Mariah Maxwell, who respectively finished first and second in both the 100m and 200m at the US U20 Championships.
Official start lists will become available after the technical meeting on the eve of the championships.
World Athletics

More than 1800 athletes from 147 member federations are entered for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

Entry lists published for World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

Shanoya Douglas was 13 when she approached coach Garth Smythe at a training session and asked him for an opportunity.
&ldquo;She was a bubbly, skinny, tiny girl who approached me and said, &lsquo;Coach, I can run&rsquo;,&rdquo; Smythe recalled. &ldquo;I wanted to see if she could back up her words. I gave her a pat on the shoulder and told her to attend training the next day.
&ldquo;She showed up, and I realised she had talent and the right attitude, so we began training.&rdquo;
Douglas grew up in Top Lincoln in the parish of Westmoreland, the same small Jamaican community that produced sprinting twins Tia and Tina Clayton. She believes her sporting ability runs in the family: her mother and aunt competed in track and field and netball, while her uncle represented Jamaica in U20 football.
Athletics has long been Douglas&rsquo;s main focus, although she has also considered a career in nursing.
Her first appearance at the Jamaican High School Championships, commonly known as Champs, provided an early reality check. Competing in the U14 100m in 2022, she finished fourth in her heat in 13.84 and failed to advance.
Afterwards, she promised Smythe that it would not happen again.
A year later, Douglas reached the finals of both the 200m and 400m, finishing fourth and eighth respectively. From that moment on, she never lost another final at Champs.
&ldquo;When I won the 400m (in 2024), I was really excited,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I was elated and didn&rsquo;t know what to do with myself. I was just dancing and celebrating. It set the tone for the 200m. It was an incredible feeling.&rdquo;
Douglas has continued to progress both domestically and internationally, guided by a coach willing to test her across a range of events.
At Champs, she has generally contested the 200m and 400m, while at the CARIFTA Games she has focused on the 100m and 200m.
&ldquo;For the 100m, it was an experiment,&rdquo; Smythe explained, noting that Douglas had previously been slow out of the blocks. &ldquo;We were working on her speed and reaction. The 200m is her pet event, and the 400m is her darling. The 100m is her least favourite event.&rdquo;
Her breakthrough season came in 2024. During the first half of the year, Douglas won the 200m and 400m at Champs before claiming the CARIFTA Games 200m title.
Later that year, the 16-year-old travelled to Lima for the World Athletics U20 Championships.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a5fe58f700e8eed918df229.JPG" alt="Shanoya Douglas on the 4x100m team in Lima" />
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Shanoya Douglas on the 4x100m team in Lima (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Oscar Munoz Badilla)
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&ldquo;Other than my first visit to The Bahamas, I had never gone to a championship and not come away with a gold medal,&rdquo; she said.
The conditions in the Peruvian capital presented an unfamiliar challenge.
&ldquo;The weather was not cold at times; it was cold all the time, and the temperatures just kept dropping,&rdquo; Douglas recalled. &ldquo;After the championships started, I realised many of my teammates were dropping out of their events because they were not accustomed to those conditions.&rdquo;
Douglas remained determined to complete her assignment.
&ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t feel like giving up,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I felt that if I came away without a medal, then I would not have achieved my objective, regardless of the conditions.&rdquo;
She wore blankets during her warm-ups and went on to take bronze in the 200m behind Adaejah Hodge and Torrie Lewis.
&ldquo;It was very cold, and I was happy that I was strong-minded enough to push through,&rdquo; Douglas said. &ldquo;My muscles started aching and my throat became sore, but I was able to come away with the bronze.&rdquo;
This season, Douglas has been in outstanding form and leads the world U20 lists for both the 100m, with 10.98, and 200m, with 22.11.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/67e910b2ea2c3546f428e2aa.jpg" alt="Shanoya Douglas at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys&rsquo; and Girls&rsquo; Athletics Championships" />
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Shanoya Douglas at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys&rsquo; and Girls&rsquo; Athletics Championships (&copy; Athelstan Bellamy)
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She has won more than 25 individual races indoors and outdoors. Her only defeat came in a 100m race in early January, a result she says provided an important wake-up call. She then went unbeaten for five months, completing sprint doubles at Champs, the CARIFTA Games and the Jamaican U20 Championships.
Douglas&rsquo;s 22.11 makes her the joint third-fastest U20 200m runner in history &ndash; tied with Allyson Felix, and one place ahead of Sha-Carri Richardson on the world U20 all-time list. But another performance remains her favourite.
&ldquo;The 200m (Jamaican U20) record at Champs is my favourite race,&rdquo; she said of the 22.36 she ran in front of about 30,000 spectators. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s my first real record.&rdquo;
Douglas had targeted the record the previous year, but her attempt was hindered by a headwind.
She will now return to the World U20 Championships in Oregon, where she hopes to improve on her bronze medal from Lima.
&ldquo;I want to finish the championships injury-free,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I want to lower my personal best and earn a gold medal in the 200m. I&rsquo;ve always talked about it, so it&rsquo;s a big milestone for me.&rdquo;
Douglas believes her experience in Peru has made her a more accomplished championship performer.
&ldquo;Last time, I felt the cold weather robbed me of the opportunity to win gold,&rdquo; she said. &ldquo;I believe this time I will be more in control, knowing what to do and how to manage my schedule.
&ldquo;This is my final World U20 Championships, and I feel ready.&rdquo;
Her preparations have not been straightforward. After Hurricane Melissa caused widespread damage in western Jamaica, Douglas continued training by running on local hills until debris had been cleared from the roads and she was able to rejoin Smythe at the school training ground.
&ldquo;Track and field is a very competitive sport, and it matches my never-say-die personality, which I adopted from the two cousins I grew up with,&rdquo; she said.
Smythe believes Douglas has the ability to succeed at senior level.
&ldquo;I definitely see Shanoya as a future Olympic and world champion over the next five years,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;She just needs to stay focused, remain humble and avoid distractions.&rdquo;
Noel Francis for World Athletics

Shanoya Douglas was 13 when she approached coach Garth Smythe at a training session and asked him for an opportunity.

Douglas draws on Lima lessons ahead of Oregon

Gary Card announced himself in a big way at the Jamaican Championships in June, clocking a national U20 100m record of 9.93 to move to joint third on the world U20 all-time list.
It was the latest step on a decade-long sprint journey for the 19-year-old, who is now focused on the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on 5-9 August.
Card showed his vast potential from an early age. He won the U10 boys&rsquo; sprint double for his school Ardenne Prep at the age of nine and was one of the standout performers at the 2017 National Prep School Championships. After transitioning to high school at Wolmer&rsquo;s Boys&rsquo;, also in Kingston, Jamaica, Card realised that making the track and field team was something earned, not given.
&ldquo;It was difficult at first,&rdquo; said Card. &ldquo;I was always used to winning from my prep school days, so coming to a new environment and seeing that I was at the bottom of the food chain forced me to work my way up and earn the respect of my coach and teammates.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a63803e265cd2c5da90a550.jpg" alt="Gary Card at the Gyulai Istv&aacute;n Memorial in Budapest" />
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Gary Card at the Gyulai Istv&aacute;n Memorial in Budapest (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Christel Saneh)
Card&rsquo;s steadfastness and mental fortitude ensured he wasted no time in proving his pedigree. In 2022, in front of a vociferous home crowd, he secured a silver medal at his first CARIFTA Games in the U17 boys&rsquo; 100m on home soil in Kingston. A year later, Card rebounded after a false start at the prestigious ISSA/Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships to claim 100m silver at the NACAC U18 Championships in San Jos&eacute;, Costa Rica.
Card is adept at running the 100m and 200m and does so interchangeably throughout each season. After winning the U20 boys&rsquo; 200m title at the 2024 CARIFTA Games in Grenada, the ambitious then 17-year-old decided to compete in the 100m against his peers and the 200m against the seniors during that year&rsquo;s Jamaican Championships.
&ldquo;I train with seniors every day, so why shouldn&rsquo;t I be competing against them?&rdquo; explained Card, who won the 100m in a PB of 10.07 and finished fifth in the 200m in a PB of 20.50 behind winner Bryan Levell, the future world bronze medallist.
&ldquo;It motivates me and pushes me to run faster, so it can only be to my advantage.&rdquo;
Later that year, at the World U20 Championships in Lima, Peru, the young Jamaican encountered challenges he had never faced before. The event took place during the Peruvian winter with temperatures ranging between 13-21&deg;C.
&ldquo;It was crazy in Peru. It was so cold that I had to wear three sets of clothing and make a lot of major adjustments, including doing extra strides during my warm-up,&rdquo; said Card, who finished sixth in the 100m and formed part of Jamaica&rsquo;s gold medal-winning 4x100m team.
&ldquo;The experience taught me a lot. It was the most nerve-wracking time of my life, and I felt the pressure. Now, I&rsquo;m more accustomed to those situations, and it will help in my future races, including the upcoming ones in Eugene (at the World U20 Championships in Oregon).&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a6383a1fc4754130ca64637.jpg" alt="Gary Card and his 4x100m teammates at the 2024 World U20 Championships" />
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Gary Card and his 4x100m teammates at the 2024 World U20 Championships (&copy; World Athletics <img style="width: 16px; vertical-align: middle; display: inline;" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,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" alt="photographer icon" /> Oscar Munoz Badilla)
The year 2025 represented unfinished business. Despite an extra year of eligibility, Card made his final appearance at the Boys and Girls Championships. It was also his final chance to secure an elusive individual 100m gold medal. Card looked impressive in his semifinal, cruising to a then PB of 10.06.
&ldquo;I went into the final with a lot of expectations,&rdquo; said Card, who ran flawlessly for the first 85 metres. &ldquo;I usually do not think too much during a race. However, when I started feeling pain towards the end, I knew in that moment that I did not want my final race to end on that note, and so I pushed through and held on for the gold. It was my toughest race. My physio was upset that I didn&rsquo;t stop, but I am glad I didn&rsquo;t.&rdquo;
According to Card, after careful reasoning with his influential father, going to college was a better option than completing two years in sixth form. A few months later, he enrolled in the University of Technology. &ldquo;I really felt it was time to go to college,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It was also more convenient with my training as the university is where I train, so it was easier to access the facilities.&rdquo;
The 2026 season so far has proven that the third time was the charm for Card when it came to racing against senior athletes.
&ldquo;I went into the race expecting to run sub-10, but in the moment after the race, while waiting for the scoreboard time, I was thinking it wasn&rsquo;t my best race,&rdquo; said Card, reflecting on his performance at last month&rsquo;s Jamaican Championships. &ldquo;The time (9.93) surprised me, and thinking about it now, I know that if I stay healthy and stay fit, I can go faster.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a6384a4fc4754130ca6463d.jpg" alt="Gary Card at the Jamaican Championships" />
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Gary Card at the Jamaican Championships (&copy; Dwayne Richards of Yardie Sports)
After that he ran a 200m PB of 20.28 to finish fifth at the World Athletics Continental Tour Gold meeting in Budapest &ndash; a time that places him second on the Jamaican U20 all-time list behind only Usain Bolt.
When discussing his improvement, Card emphasised the importance of his training partner&nbsp;Kishane Thompson, the Olympic and world 100m silver medallist.
&ldquo;I always say iron sharpens iron,&rdquo; explained Card. &ldquo;Training with Kishane Thompson every day really motivates me; he&rsquo;s the reason I was able to run so fast this season.&rdquo;
Complacency has no room in Card&rsquo;s plans; he has set his sights on his next target.
&ldquo;Once I run a time, I give myself the night to be excited or emotional, but the next morning I&rsquo;m back to normal knowing that I can go faster,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Anything faster than 9.93 is what I need to achieve.&rdquo;
On his goals for the World U20 Championships, he added: &ldquo;First of all, I want to arrive in Eugene healthy and leave healthy. Secondly, of course, to win the events I&rsquo;m running, which are the 100m, 200m and 4x100m. That is the aim, and to run personal best times in both the 100m and 200m.&rdquo;
Card is from a close-knit family that supports him wholeheartedly, and he often returns the favour with his outstanding performances. The World U20 Championships provides Card with another opportunity to make his family, friends, coach, physiotherapist, manager and the MVP camp proud.
After all, Card lives by his school motto: &lsquo;age quod agis&rsquo; &ndash; whatever you do, do it to the best of your ability.
Noel Francis for World Athletics
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Gary Card announced himself in a big way at the Jamaican Championships in June, clocking a national U20 100m record of 9.93 to move to joint third on the world U20 all-time list.

Card holding the aces ahead of Oregon

Rising sprinters Shanoya Douglas and Gary Card have been named on Jamaica&rsquo;s team for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 on 5-9 August.
Douglas is the world U20 leader in both the 100m and 200m, while Card tops the season list for the 100m. Both athletes have been listed for the double in Oregon, USA &ndash; Douglas named alongside Theianna-Lee Terrelonge for the 100m and Sashana Johnson for the 200m, and Card joined by Dontae Watson in the 100m and Nathaniel Martin in the 200m.
Douglas won two medals as a 16-year-old at the last edition of the World U20 Championships in Lima in 2024 &ndash; 4x100m gold and 200m bronze. Already this year she has secured a sprint double at the Jamaican U20 Championships and a 100m, 200m and 4x100m treble at the CARIFTA Games. She ran 10.98 to win the shorter sprint at the Boys and Girls Championships in Kingston in March and a national U20 record of 22.11 &ndash; putting her joint third on the&nbsp;world U20 all-time list &ndash; to win her CARIFTA 200m title in April.
Card also got gold at the last World U20 Championships as he formed part of the winning 4x100m team after finishing sixth in the 100m final. The 19-year-old decided to contest the senior race at the Jamaican Championships in June and secured 100m silver behind world champion Oblique Seville in a national U20 record of 9.93 &ndash; a performance that also moved him to joint third on the world U20 all-time list.
Michael-Andre Edwards is another athlete who has been entered for two events. The 18-year-old claimed triple jump gold and long jump silver at the CARIFTA Games and has been named for both events in Oregon. NACAC U23 champion Joseph Salmon has been entered for the discus as the current world U20 No.2.
CARIFTA Games champion Tiana Marshall has been confirmed for the 100m hurdles, while her fellow national U20 champion Robert Miller is named for the 400m hurdles.
<h3>Jamaican team for Oregon:</h3>
WOMEN 100m: Shanoya Douglas, Theianna-Lee Terrelonge 200m: Shanoya Douglas, Sashana Johnson 400m: Daniellia Dixon, Shameika McLean 800m: Kevongaye Fowler 100m hurdles: Akeelah Bell, Tiana Marshall 400m hurdles: Maria Crossfield, Shevaughn Thomas Discus: Able Mills 4x100m: Samoya Brown, Shanoya Douglas, Natrece East, Renecia Edwards, Tiana Marshall, Theianna-Lee Terrelonge 4x400m: Davine Dickenson, Daniellia Dixon, Kristen Herbert, Sashana Johnson, Shanika Lindsay, Shameika McLean
MEN 100m: Gary Card, Dontae Watson 200m: Gary Card, Nathaniel Martin 400m: Jabari Matheson, Jason Pitter 800m: Joel Morgan 110m hurdles: Taj-Oneil Gordon, Marquies Page 400m hurdles: Robert Miller, Jahvanie Tyrell High jump: David Brown Long jump: Michael-Andre Edwards Triple jump: Michael-Andre Edwards, Rekelme Hunter Shot put: Nkosana Johnson, Kamari Kennedy Discus: Kamari Kennedy, Joseph Salmon 4x100m: Gary Card, Nathaniel Martin, Sanjay Seymore, Justin Stewart, Nyrone Wade, Dontae Watson 4x400m: Jabari Matheson, Jabulani McLeod, Jason Pitter, Jordan Rehedul, Nishawn Walker, Joshua Wint
MIXED 4x100m: Kyle Bodden, Natrece East, Renecia Edwards, Sashana Johnson, Detarje Morgan, Sanjay Seymore 4x400m: Jaeden Campbell, Daniellia Dixon, Shameika McLean, Jabulani McLeod, Nishawn Walker

Rising sprinters Shanoya Douglas and Gary Card have been named on Jamaica’s team for the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

World U20 leaders Douglas and Card head Jamaican team for Oregon

It was two minutes before midnight on Wednesday 16 July 1986 that Peter Chumba entered the track and field history books. Running barefoot at the Olympic Stadium in Athens, the 17-year-old Kenyan injected a 2:04 final 800m to emerge victorious from the men&rsquo;s 10,000m at what was known at the time as the IAAF World Junior Championships.
In doing so, Chumba became the first ever world junior champion at what is now known as the World Athletics U20 Championships. He went on to win the 5000m three days later, notching a double that has since been matched by Haile Gebrselassie, Daniel Komen and Assefa Mezgebu.
While the latter trio all went on to make a name for themselves on the global senior stage &ndash; the Ethiopian Gebrselassie as one of the distance greats of all time, the Kenyan Komen as a world champion and world record-breaker and Mezgebu as the third man in that classic 2000 Olympic 10,000m final in which his compatriot Gebrselassie and Kenya&rsquo;s Paul Tergat slugged out their epic duel &ndash; Chumba disappeared into obscurity.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a58c2a3f01bc746c87c33ce.jpg" alt="Peter Chumba on his way to winning the 1986 world U20 10,000m title" />
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Peter Chumba on his way to winning the 1986 world U20 10,000m title (&copy; Getty Images)
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Still, 40 years on, those inaugural World U20 Championships stand out as a launch pad for talented teenagers who proceeded to make their mark in the senior global track and field arena.
Some of them didn&rsquo;t manage to make the podium in Athens, or even the finish line. Indeed, you have to dig deep into the archives to discover that Brahim Boutayeb was alongside Chumba in the lead group in that 1986 10,000m final before dropping out at halfway. Two years later, the unheralded young Moroccan was crowned Olympic 10,000m champion in Seoul.
Peter Rono was another surprise gold medal winner in the South Korean capital: &ldquo;the most unexpected Olympic 1500m champion since Luxembourg&rsquo;s Josy Bartel in 1952,&rdquo; Mel Watman ventured in his report for Athletics Today.
In Athens Rono took 1500m silver in 3:45.52, 0.90 behind his Kenyan teammate Wilfred Kirochi. At the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, with several leading contenders absent or below full fitness, Rono seized the day to win gold ahead of Peter Elliott.
In doing so, he became the first in a long line of Olympic champions to emerge from Brother Colm O&rsquo;Connell&rsquo;s remarkable middle and long distance running stable at St Patrick&rsquo;s High School in Iten.
And, unlike Peter Chumba, Wilfred Kirochi didn&rsquo;t fade away. After retaining his world junior crown ahead of Noureddine Morceli in Sudbury in 1988, he claimed Commonwealth silver behind Elliott in 1990 and senior world silver behind the Algerian Morceli a year later.
Of the inaugural world U20 champions crowned in Athens in 1986, four proceeded to establish themselves as major forces in their events at senior level: Javier Sotomayor,&nbsp;Colin Jackson, Mikhail Shchennikov and Ilke Wyludda.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a58c2e4f01bc746c87c33d1.jpg" alt="Javier Sotomayor in action at the 1986 World U20 Championships" />
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Javier Sotomayor in action at the 1986 World U20 Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
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Sotomayor won the men&rsquo;s high jump title in Athens with 2.25m and went on to dominate his event, winning Olympic gold in Barcelona in 1992, plus two world titles outdoors and four indoors. The Cuban also set three world records outdoors, the last of them the 2.45m clearance in Salamanca that remains intact today.
Hollis Conway took world U20 silver behind Sotomayor in Athens with 2.22m and proceeded to claim two Olympic medals (silver in 1988, bronze in 1992), and world indoor gold and outdoor bronze in 1991.
In taking the 110m hurdles title in 13.44, Jackson turned the tables on his British nemesis Jon Ridgeon, relieving him of the European U20 record he set ahead of him at the continental junior championships in Cottbus the previous year and relegating him to the role of distant silver medallist in 13.91.
Ridgeon, who was a member of the victorious British 4x100m relay team in Athens, subsequently regained the upper hand in their rivalry, claiming a senior world silver medal behind Greg Foster of the US in Rome the following year, equalling his own British record of 13.29, with Jackson third in 13.38.
Thereafter, however, Jackson &ndash; who had taken Commonwealth Games silver in Edinburgh just two weeks after his world U20 victory &ndash; forged ahead and the unfortunate Ridgeon became bedevilled by injuries. At the Seoul Olympics in 1988, Jackson finished second and his British teammate, hit by a viral infection, fifth.
Jackson went on to become a star of the event. In addition to his Olympic silver, he won two world titles outdoors, one indoor, four European outdoor gold medals, four indoors (one of those in the flat 60m) and two Commonwealth golds. The 110m hurdles world record he set at the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart survived for 12 years. He also held the world indoor 60m hurdles record (7.30) for 27 years.
&ldquo;When I consider my career, the World Junior Championships gold is one of my most memorable races,&rdquo; Jackson wrote in his autobiography. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll always remember it because it had all those ingredients that I would need later to be a champion.&rdquo;
Ridgeon, meanwhile, has enjoyed a highly successful post-competition career, since 2019 as Chief Executive Officer of World Athletics.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a58c3fa24703aef39f08c76.jpg" alt="Jon Ridgeon anchors Great Britain to 4x100m victory at the 1986 World U20 Championships" />
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Jon Ridgeon anchors Great Britain to 4x100m victory at the 1986 World U20 Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
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Shchennikov won the men&rsquo;s 10,000m race walk title in Athens in 40:38.01 and went on to become one of the leading race walkers of his generation. Competing first for the Soviet Union and later for Russia, he claimed four successive world indoor 5000m race walk titles between 1987 and 1993, and also became a European indoor champion on three occasions.
Outdoors, his senior career proved similarly distinguished. Shchennikov held the world record for the 20km race walk, won the European 20km title in Helsinki in 1994, and claimed world silver medals over the distance in 1991 and 1997. At the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, having finished seventh in the 20km race walk, he returned to win silver in the 50km event.
Wyludda was a decisive winner of the women&rsquo;s discus, throwing 64.02m, and retained her title in Sudbury two years later. The East German won Olympic gold in Atlanta in 1996 &ndash; four years before developing septicaemia and having her right leg amputated.
She was a finalist at the 2012 Paralympics in London and won shot put bronze at the 2015 World Para Athletics Championships. She died in 2024, aged 55.
Wyludda&rsquo;s East German teammate Franka Dietzsch finished runner-up in that inaugural world junior final, with 60.26m. She went on to claim a hat-trick of world senior titles: in 1999, 2005 and 2007.
Three other podium placers in Athens achieved global gold medals in the senior arena: 100m bronze medallist Maicel Malone of the USA (as a relay runner), East Germany&rsquo;s 200m bronze medallist Katrin Krabbe, and 400m bronze medallist Sandie Richards of Jamaica.
Soviet Olimpiada Ivanova, 15th in the 5000m race walk, won two world 20km titles, while Britain&rsquo;s Fiona May, eighth in the long jump in Athens, won three world titles for Italy (one of them indoors) &ndash; after claiming world U20 gold for her native country in Sudbury in 1988.
Hassiba Boulmerka failed to make the finals of the 800m and 1500m but the Algerian was crowned Olympic 1500m champion in Barcelona in 1992.
Simon Turnbull for World Athletics Heritage
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Looking back at the inaugural World U20 Championships

Forty years since the World Athletics U20 Championships began

By Owen Murray
If she&rsquo;d just stepped into her car instead, Jaslene Massey probably could have still been the best high school throws athlete in California. She would&rsquo;ve left the state track and field championships with a discus win and a half-inch loss in the shot put, driven away and tried to forget. Maybe she would&rsquo;ve returned the next year. Maybe not.
Instead, when Massey, then a high school junior, lost a shot put final which she and her coach, Mike O&rsquo;Dell, figured she should've dominated, she wasn&rsquo;t going to stand by.
&ldquo;Usually when something like that happens to an athlete, they don't want to be around their coach,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Dell, who has coached Massey since her sophomore year, says. &ldquo;They don't want to be around people that are gonna talk about it.&rdquo; He even offered to let it rest, to drive to dinner at BJ&rsquo;s like they&rsquo;d planned and to come back to it later. Massey stepped from the gravel parking lot into his car.
&ldquo;I assume you&rsquo;re riding here because we&rsquo;re going to talk about it now, and then we&rsquo;re going to leave it behind us,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Dell told Massey after she sat down.
&ldquo;Yep,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;
She didn&rsquo;t want to talk about it &mdash; not really. But she knew that she had to. So she did.
A year and change later, Massey, a University of Oregon commit, still gets a little bit of grit in her voice when she talks about that night.
&ldquo;I hate losing so much,&rdquo; she says now. &ldquo;I was supposed to win by five feet, and I lost by literally this much.&rdquo;
She puts her fingers half an inch apart.
&ldquo;Like, are you kidding me?&rdquo;
Half-inches of Massey&rsquo;s world, however messy, stick to her soul. They live in her phone, which is entirely in Spanish because, even though she can&rsquo;t speak it fluently, her mom, Popi, can and Jaslene can read it. She played volleyball &mdash; beach, too, even though she hates the sand. A budding real estate agent, she&rsquo;s going to &ldquo;monopolize Eugene,&rdquo; she says, because her path to real estate started when her family played a board game called CASHFLOW which she adored. At 16, she had to turn that maturity into self-sufficiency when her parents divorced. She moved into a host family&rsquo;s house in order to stay at her high school. She color codes her schedule to keep up. Throws were the key to a scholarship, which made college possible.
&ldquo;I don't like losing at all,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;It still pisses me off to this day. Losing &mdash; it's not life or death, but it's damn near.&rdquo;
169 weeks ago, Massey posted a picture to her Instagram Story. It's a mostly-dark room with a low ceiling and orange ambient lighting. There&rsquo;s a disco ball scattering light across the hardwood court floor. One line of light arcs across the rink, weaving back and forth. &ldquo;Where it all started,&rdquo; the post reads, with a geotag to Fountain Valley Skating Center.
That could have been her future.
Massey&rsquo;s grandfather, Gary Edwards, was her sports connoisseur. Figure skating was the second sport he dunked a preteen Massey into &mdash; and the first that stuck.&nbsp;
The first, ballet, ended differently when Massey walked out of the rec center after her first lesson and turned to Edwards.
&ldquo;Grandpa, can we never do this again?&rdquo; she asked.
They went to McDonald&rsquo;s instead &mdash; to no avail; Massey hasn&rsquo;t been back since. Figure skating, the second option, became her genesis. She&rsquo;d watch the upper-level girls skate, and think &ldquo;I want to do that.&rdquo;
Then, &ldquo;I need to be better than that.&rdquo;
That competitive drive permeated her high school experience, even as her future became more complicated. She wanted a sport that would pay for college in the U.S., and figure skating wasn&rsquo;t on that list. Volleyball was another option; her mom, Popi, is a Hall of Famer in the sport at the University of California, Irvine, and it became Massey&rsquo;s first high school sport.
In one match, Massey was &ldquo;terribly sick,&rdquo; she remembers. She&rsquo;d rotate out regularly, and take the break to go to the restroom &mdash; where she threw up, returned, and kept playing.
&ldquo;I literally could not &mdash; I did not want to give up this game, because I wanted to win so bad,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;I stopped playing only because I was throwing up blood.&rdquo;
Barely walking to the car, Popi had to convince Massey to leave for the hospital instead of staying to win the match. That&rsquo;s the competitor whom O&rsquo;Dell watched step into his car after a half-inch loss.
The coach thinks of himself as a competitive person. He loves Kobe Bryant, then starts to compare Massey to the Black Mamba. When he saw her throw a shot put for the first time, he remembers, it &ldquo;looked like she was shooting a 3-pointer.&rdquo; Her talent was obvious, though, and so O&rsquo;Dell introduced himself to Edwards.
A few days later, he was sitting down with Massey.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I want all the smoke,&rdquo; she told him.
&ldquo;We're gonna sit here and play Go Fish,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Dell said. &ldquo;I'm gonna beat you.&rdquo;
&ldquo;No, you&rsquo;re not,&rdquo; Massey said.&nbsp;
Few have. Since they joined forces, Massey has taken over the high school scene.&nbsp;
Off the track, Massey grew up fast. She was the freshman talking about college, then the upperclassman organizing her life in the wake of her parents&rsquo; divorce. She wasn&rsquo;t legally responsible for herself until she turned 18 last year, but it felt like it long before.
O&rsquo;Dell entered her life in the middle of Massey&rsquo;s sophomore year. That version of her, which she describes now as &ldquo;headstrong&rdquo;, wanted to be her mom, the college volleyball star. She slacked off, missing practices as she became a jumps and shot put standout.&nbsp;
At the CIF State Track and Field Championships, she finished third in the shot put while &ldquo;refusing&rdquo; to touch a discus, then promptly skipped summer track and field training.
Her grandfather stepped in.
&ldquo;He was like, &lsquo;You need to lock in,&rsquo;&rdquo; Massey says. &ldquo;&lsquo;You need to call this man up. He&rsquo;s putting something serious on the table for you. You&rsquo;re not seeing it.&rsquo;&rdquo;
In the midst of her volleyball season, she added throws practice. Discus became her best event. Her days became a freight train of school to volleyball to throws. One day, she finished school, played a volleyball game, lifted and headed to the track.
&ldquo;I was so locked in on sports, I forgot to realize I&rsquo;m doing 12-hour days,&rdquo; Massey says.
The end of junior year delivered her to a state meet she expected to sweep. She took the discus gold, but when she walked into the parking lot with the silver shot put medal, she wasn&rsquo;t satisfied. O&rsquo;Dell opened the door.
&ldquo;I didn't really want to talk about it, but I knew I had to, and I knew I had to not be so upset in public because I did just win discus,&rdquo; Massey says. &ldquo;It was not a completely horrible situation, but I was just pissed.&rdquo;
Her joy and frustration carried into a tour-de-force senior season in which she swept the state discus and shot put titles, with a personal-best mark in the former and a win in the latter by 2.54m (8-04). When she returned to Hayward Field in June, she swept all four available Nike Outdoor Nationals and USATF U20 Outdoor Championship shot put and discus titles, setting personal bests again in three of the four finals.
On the morning of her final day, a 16.52m (54-02.50) throw won her the NON shot put title. She never trailed. As she left the stadium, O&rsquo;Dell caught up to her. She&rsquo;d picked execution as her focus during the season; to not think about competitors and to focus on technique. He wanted to remind her.
&ldquo;The next part is the hardest,&rdquo; O&rsquo;Dell told her. &ldquo;You&rsquo;re gonna feel it in the end. It&rsquo;s going to be the hardest one, mentally and physically.&rdquo;
As discus began that afternoon, Massey felt her mental fortitude waning. She tried to loop her mind back into the competition.&nbsp;
A 54.96m (180-03) first throw was enough to put her in the lead. Four consecutive fouls, though, hijacked her commitment to execution. No one could catch her, but she couldn&rsquo;t catch up to her mind. One more throw, at 54.48m (178-09), ensured her victory despite what she felt was a lack of execution.
&ldquo;It was good practice for Worlds, for sure,&rdquo; she says. &ldquo;If I make both finals, then that&rsquo;s exactly what&rsquo;s going to happen.&rdquo;
She&rsquo;ll return to the ring at Hayward Field in August for those World Athletics U20 Championships. She&rsquo;ll carry that experience. She&rsquo;ll want all the smoke.

The world U20 No. 1 discus thrower is headed to Eugene with her fire already lit.

Jaslene Massey wants ‘all the smoke’

Athlete development will be the focus on and off the field of play at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 following the launch of the Athletes Connect initiative.
Building on the success of the athlete zones at the 2024 edition of the World U20 Championships in Lima and at the World Athletics Championships Tokyo 25, Athletes Connect will offer workshops and talks from some of the sport&rsquo;s legends as well as games in a space dedicated to athletes ahead of and during the competition in Oregon, from 3-10 August.
The main objective of Athletes Connect is to educate, empower and develop the new generation of track and field elite athletes as they embark on their journey towards becoming professionals of the sport.
The workshops will be presented by shot put superstar Valerie Adams, New Zealand&rsquo;s two-time Olympic and eight-time world champion who won world U18 and world U20 titles at the start of her career.
As part of that, four talks will be given on two topics:
&bull; &lsquo;Your athlete journey&rsquo; with triple jump ace Christian Taylor, decathlon great Ashton Eaton and sprinter turned track analyst Ato Boldon. It will offer insight into balancing education and a sporting career, building a support network and entourage, and life after sport.
&bull; &lsquo;Your image, your power&rsquo; with commentator Rob Walker and a major social media platform. This will focus on how to capitalise on athlete star power, working with the media, and the power of social media.
The talks will be held across two days at the Student Welcome Centre Theatre at the University of Oregon &ndash; &lsquo;Your athlete journey&rsquo; on Monday 3 August and &lsquo;Your image, your power&rsquo; on Tuesday 4 August. There will be two sessions for each talk, one from 2:00pm to 4:00pm and another from 5:00pm to 7:00pm each day.
Athletes Connect will also incorporate an athlete zone at the University of Oregon&rsquo;s Bean Hall featuring US town fair style educational games with giveaways such as tote bags with education booklets.
Multiple content areas will be available for either athlete self-capture or capture with professional content creators involving photography or video. The content will be distributed to athletes with posting and messaging guidance to help them build their online brands.
More than 1500 people visited the athlete zone during the 2024 World U20 Championships as athletes gained insight into topics such as health &amp; science, safeguarding, social media, athlete representatives, and athletics rules and regulations.
&ldquo;For many athletes, the World U20 Championships will be their first experience of global competition and it is really important that the development opportunities do not end there, on the field of play,&rdquo; said Adams, now Chair of the World Athletics Athletes' Commission and a World Athletics Council Member.
&ldquo;Seeing the impact of similar initiatives in Lima and Tokyo proves what a great chance this is to empower and equip athletes at the start of their hopefully long and fruitful careers. I encourage all areas to support athletes through such initiatives.&rdquo;
Further information about Athletes Connect will be available to athletes on site at the WU20 Oregon 26.
World Athletics

Athlete development will be the focus on and off the field of play at the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26 following the launch of the Athletes Connect initiative.

Athletes Connect to empower athletes at World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26

The World Athletics U20 Championships is a major milestone in the careers of many rising athletes. With one month to go until Oregon hosts the global age-group event for the second time, we highlight some of the stars who competed at the 2014 edition and have gone on to secure success on the senior stage.
The World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26, taking place at Eugene&rsquo;s Hayward Field from 5-9 August, is where the next generation could start to follow in their footsteps. 
<h2>Dina Asher-Smith</h2>
Oregon is where Dina Asher-Smith won her first global title, the British sprinter clinching the 100m crown in 11.23.
Prior to that, she claimed 4x100m bronze as a 17-year-old at the senior World Championships in Moscow in 2013 and she went on to become an individual world champion, getting the 200m title in Doha in 2019.
The 2014 World U20 Championships was the first outdoor global track and field World Athletics Series event to be held in the USA and when global athletics returned to Oregon for the senior World Championships in 2022, Asher-Smith claimed another medal &ndash; 200m bronze.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a4aace925455bb746f2f11a.jpg" alt="Dina Asher-Smith at the 2014 World U20 Championships" />
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Dina Asher-Smith at the 2014 World U20 Championships (&copy; Getty Images)
<h2>Joshua Cheptegei</h2>
Joshua Cheptegei became the first global champion to be crowned at Hayward Field as the men&rsquo;s 10,000m was the first final held during the 2014 World U20 Championships and the Ugandan athlete claimed a convincing win in 28:32.86.
Like Asher-Smith, Cheptegei also returned to Oregon for the 2022 World Championships and he won another 10,000m title &ndash; the second of his three senior world crowns. He has also become a two-time Olympic champion, winning the 5000m in 2021 and the 10,000m in 2024, and is the world record-holder over both distances. 
<h2>Matthew Denny</h2>
Australia&rsquo;s Matthew Denny lined up in Oregon as a two-time global medallist, one year on from his discus gold and hammer bronze at the World U18 Championships in Donetsk. The then 18-year-old also contested both events at the World U20 Championships, his performances highlighted by a fourth-place finish in the discus.
He made his senior World Championships debut in 2019 and has finished in the top six in the discus at the past four editions &ndash; placing sixth in Oregon in 2022. Since then he has become an Olympic bronze medallist and sits second on the world all-time list with the Oceanian record of 74.78m he threw in Ramona last year.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a4aacfd25455bb746f2f11d.jpg" alt="Matthew Denny in discus action in Eugene" />
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Matthew Denny in discus action in Eugene (&copy; Getty Images)
<h2>Shamier Little</h2>
The US team topped the medal table at the 2014 World U20 Championships on home soil, claiming 11 titles. Shamier Little was among the winners as she completed a 400m hurdles title treble at Hayward Field that summer &ndash; her world U20 gold following the NCAA title and US U20 title she claimed on the same track.
She also formed part of USA&rsquo;s gold medal-winning 4x400m team at the World U20 Championships and went on to win the next two NCAA titles and two of her three senior US titles in Oregon. She finished fourth at the World Championships there in 2022 and claimed silver medals either side of that &ndash; in Beijing as a 20-year-old in 2015 and in Budapest in 2023. 
<h2>Yulimar Rojas</h2>
Venezuelan triple jump star Yulimar Rojas might not have made it on to the podium in Oregon 12 years ago, but she has secured significant success since.
The then 18-year-old finished 11th in the long jump and also contested the triple jump at the World U20 Championships but has gone on to become a four-time world triple jump champion, an Olympic gold medallist and the world record-holder, soaring 15.74m to win the third of her world indoor titles in Belgrade in 2022.
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/6a4aad1325455bb746f2f120.jpg" alt="Yulimar Rojas at the World U20 Championships in Eugene" />
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Yulimar Rojas at the World U20 Championships in Eugene (&copy; Getty Images)
<h2>Woo Sanghyeok</h2>
Korea&rsquo;s Woo Sanghyeok was already a global champion by the time he got to Oregon &ndash; as a 17-year-old he won the world U18 high jump title with a PB clearance of 2.20m in Donetsk. He achieved another PB on the global stage at the World U20 Championships, clearing 2.24m to clinch bronze.
After clearing a national record of 2.36m in the February of 2022 and winning the first of his two world indoor titles in the March, Woo made the podium again in Oregon later that year, claiming World Championships silver. He repeated that feat at last year&rsquo;s World Championships in Tokyo. 
Other senior global medallists who started out by making the world U20 podium in Eugene in 2014 include Sweden&rsquo;s Andreas Almgren (800m bronze), USA&rsquo;s Trayvon Bromell (100m silver), Ethiopia&rsquo;s Yomif Kejelcha (5000m gold), Japan&rsquo;s Yoshihide Kiryu (100m bronze), Croatia&rsquo;s Sara Kolak (javelin bronze), Cuba&rsquo;s L&aacute;zaro Mart&iacute;nez (triple jump gold), New Zealand&rsquo;s Eliza McCartney (pole vault bronze), Cuba&rsquo;s Liadagmis Povea (triple jump silver), USA&rsquo;s Valarie Sion (discus silver) and the Netherlands&rsquo; Nadine Visser (100m hurdles and heptathlon bronze).
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With one month to go until the World Athletics U20 Championships Oregon 26, we highlight some of the stars who competed at the 2014 edition

Oregon reflections – the world U20 class of 2014

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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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<h2 style="text-align: center; color: #96f460;"><a href="https://am.ticketmaster.com/haywardtrackandfield/buy?id=NDk5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TICKETS ON SALE NOW</a></h2>
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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.
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