Saga Vanninen competes in the heptathlon high jump at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi (© Dan Vernon)
Thursday (19) is a busy day of finals at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, with nine gold medals to be gained.
After heats and heptathlon action in the morning, the afternoon session’s finals kick off with the women’s javelin before the men’s pole vault, men’s shot put, heptathlon 800m, women’s discus, men’s 5000m, women’s 3000m, women’s 100m and men’s 100m.
Here are five things to follow on day two.
100m
Women’s final: 5:30pm. Men’s final: 5:50pm local time
Jamaica’s Tina Clayton and Namibia's Beatrice Masilingi cruised into the women’s 100m final, running 11.34 and 11.35 to win their respective semifinals, with Nigeria’s Praise Ofoku joining them thanks to her 11.57 to take the third semifinal. The final will also feature Serbia's Ivana Ilic, Switzerland's Melissa Gutschmidt, Czech Republic's Eva Kubickov, Slovakia’s Viktoria Forster and Jamaica’s Kerrica Hill.
Botswana’s Letsile Tebogo ran a national U20 record in the heats and then improved to 10.11 - a senior national record - to qualify quickest for the men's 100m final. Oman's Ali Anwar al Balushi won the second semifinal in a national U20 record of 10.27 and Nigeria's Godson Oke Oghenebrume the third semifinal in 10.22. They will be joined in the final by Poland’s Oliwer Wdowik, Italy’s Matteo Melluzo, Benjamin Richardson of South Africa, Grenada's Nazzio John and Shainer Rengifo Montoya of Cuba.
Women’s 3000m
Final: 5:00pm local time
Two athletes have dipped below the nine-minute barrier in the women’s 3000m field, both of them Kenyan, so there’s a good chance the hosts will have a gold to celebrate here via either Teresia Muthoni Gateri or Zenah Chemutai Yego. Their biggest challenge will likely come from their East African rivals, Uganda, who are represented here by Prisca Chesang.
Women’s javelin
Final: 2:40pm local time
The women’s javelin looks set to be a high-quality affair, with three athletes having thrown over 60 metres this year, the list topped by Elina Tzengko of Greece. The 18-year-old threw 63.96m in August 2020, a mark which beat the world U20 record of 63.86m, although it could not be ratified as an official record. Cuba’s Yiselena Ballar makes her first ever international trip for the event and will be looking to emulate her coach, Xiomara Rivero, the first world U20 champion in 1986.
Men’s pole vault
Final: 3:00pm
French vaulter Anthony Ammirati will be seeking more success after his win at the European U20 Championships, as he cleared 5.64m to triumph in Tallinn. That performance came after a national U20 record clearance of 5.72m in June and he tops the entry list by 12 centimetres. The top two from Tallinn both compete, with Ammirati joined by Belarusian 17-year-old Matvei Volkov, who set a world U18 best of 5.60m in February.
Heptathlon
Long jump: 9:12am, javelin: 10:39, 800m: 4:05pm
Finland’s European U20 champion Saga Vanninen is aiming for her second major title in as many months and she leads the event going into day two.
She has 3638 points, with Austria's Sophie Kreiner sitting second after the first day of action on 3436 points. Competition continues with the long jump, javelin and 800m on day two.
