Reid and Walaza win world U20 100m titles in Lima

The 100m finals closed out a thrilling second day at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Wednesday (28).

The women’s 100m was expected to come down to a battle between Jamaica’s Alana Reid and Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands, and it was indeed those two athletes who took the gold and silver, respectively.

It was a tale of two starts that made the difference in medal colour. Reid blasted out of the blocks and held that advantage over the duration of the race. In the end, no one could catch her as she crossed the line in 11.17 (0.0m/s) to take her first global U20 title.

Hodge, on the other hand, had to overcome a slightly sluggish start to earn her place on the podium. She accelerated well over the second half of the race to place second in 11.27. Kishawna Niles of Barbados rounded out the podium in 11.37.

The performance caps off a stellar season for Reid, who ran the lead-off leg on the Jamaican 4x100m relay team that took fifth place at the Olympic Games in Paris. She is now a two-time world U20 medallist, with this year’s gold medal an upgrade from her 200m bronze medal from Cali in 2022.

"This is my last World U20 Championships. In 2022 I ran the 200m and I came here and I told myself this is my last one and this is going to be my best one," said Reid. "I would say to the new generation, never give up. Don't let anyone tell you that you can't hold your head high, dream big, work towards whatever you have in your mind. Believe you can achieve."

Though he only came in with the seventh-fastest personal best, Bayanda Walaza would not be denied in the men’s 100m final. The South African won gold in 10.19 (-0.9m/s) after a phenomenal start that took control of the competition in the first steps of the race.

Puripol Boonson of Thailand came into the final knowing he would need an explosive start to challenge for the top of the podium. Though he was not able to get out quickly enough to vie for the title, he maintained his composure to finish well and place second in 10.22, gaining the first ever medal for his nation at the World U20 Championships. 

"This is special, especially for my people from South Africa, this means a lot," said Walaza. "This is an extremely emotional moment for me. This was the best thing – I have never felt like this before. Okay, the Olympics. But this one, it’s about me! It feels special."

Walaza’s compatriot and pre-event favourite Bradley Nkoana snagged the bronze in 10.26. The podium placings bode well for the South African men’s 4x100m team in Lima, particularly as both Walaza and Nkoana formed part of their nation’s silver medal-winning team at the Olympic Games in Paris.

It is not always the case, but the medals in the women’s heptathlon came down to the final event – the 800m. Jana Koscak of Croatia knew she had to stay ahead of Switzerland’s Lucia Acklin to take the gold. She ended up edging out the Swiss athlete by less than a second, 2:24.56 to 2:25.43, to win the heptathlon with 5807 points.

Koscak went into the lead in the heptathlon after the second event and managed to maintain that position throughout the competition. Acklin, who earned silver in a PB of 5755 points, worked her way up in the standings over the first day. On day two, she notched a season’s best in the long jump, a PB in the javelin and a season’s best in the 800m to cement her podium spot.

Czechia’s Adela Tkacova pushed the pace in the 800m and was rewarded with 2:16.77, the fastest time in the competition and a PB by more than a second. The heroic performance moved her ahead of Australia’s Mia Scerri in the heptathlon standings and ensured her bronze medal with 5601 points.

In field action, Han Bingyang of China launched a second-round throw of 57.57m, a personal best by more than a metre, to clinch victory in the women’s discus. She was one of only two athletes to set a personal best in the final, the other being Ottaynis Mercedes Febres of Venezuela, who set a national U20 record with her 51.43m throw for eighth place.

“My heart is moved. I didn't expect to get this far,” said Han. “I didn't imagine I could throw so far, so I'm really happy to be the champion here.”

Huang Jingru earned silver (56.47m) to close out an impressive 1-2 podium finish for China. Australia’s Marley Raikiwasa got the bronze with her fifth-round throw of 56.25m.

It was a good night for the Australians, as Raikiwasa’s compatriot Delta Amidzovski soared to a PB of 6.58m to take the top podium spot in the women’s long jump. It was a surprise win for Amidzovski, who came into the competition ranked 12th off season’s best. She delivered when it counted, securing the gold with her fifth-round jump. 

In a close contest, Sophia Beckmon of the US earned silver with her fifth-round mark of 6.54m, which had momentarily moved Amidzovski into silver. The fifth round was good to Poland’s Julia Adamczyk, too, as she moved into the bronze medal position in that round with her 6.34m leap.

Beyond the results in day two’s finals, there were key performances in qualification rounds across several events.

Jayden Davis of the US ran a swift 45.79 in the semifinals of the men’s 400m to comfortably lead all qualifiers. Japan’s Kentaro Shirahata won the second semifinal in a personal best of 46.30, and USA’s Sidi Njie won the third semifinal (46.56) to improve the medal prospects for the US in the final. 

Lurdes Gloria Manuel of Czechia showed why she was the pre-race favourite by cruising to the fastest overall time in the women’s 400m semifinals. Manuel took the third semifinal in 51.91, followed closely by Ella Onojuvwevwo of Nigeria in 51.99. These two look to be the class of the field, which is no surprise given they are coming off semifinal appearances at the Olympic Games in Paris. 

Zaya Akins of the US won the first semifinal in 52.11, while Elisa Valensin of Italy earned the second automatic qualifying spot from that section with a national U20 record of 52.23. Canada’s Dianna Proctor earned her second PB of the day with her 52.59 to win the second semifinal.

In the men’s 1500m qualification, Australia’s Cameron Myers recorded a 3:41.32 in the third heat to lead all runners. Myers ran from the front and looked every bit the favourite for the final, which will take place on Saturday (31). His race had the top seven fastest times across all heats.

Josphat Kipkirui of Kenya took the first heat in 3:44.62 and Alex Pintado of Spain recorded the same time to win the second heat. Abdisa Fayisa of Ethiopia, who came into the competition with the fastest PB and season’s best (3:32.37), finished right behind Pintado to easily qualify to the final.

In the women’s 1500m heats, Saron Berhe of Ethiopia confirmed that she is the one to beat with her leading qualifying time of 4:18.88. Berhe is the only competitor in the field with a PB under four minutes (3:59.21). It would likely take a special performance to best her in Saturday’s final.

Fellow heat winners Rachel Forsyth of Canada (4:20.85) and Ava Lloyd of Great Britain (4:21.53), along with second-fastest qualifier Saida El-Bouzy of Morocco (4:20.94), will be looking to earn podium spots, as well.

While the automatic qualifying mark in the men’s pole vault was 5.30m, just four men went clear of 5.25m. The rest of the field for the final was filled in descending order on countback. It took 5.10m to advance to Friday’s final. Jan Krcek of Czechia led the qualifiers with the only flawless card of the competition.

Jessi Gabriel for World Athletics