3rd Youth Olympic Games

Youth Olympic Games

100 Metres

200 Metres

400 Metres

800 Metres

1500 Metres

3000 Metres

2000 Metres Steeplechase

110m Hurdles (91.4cm)

100 Metres Hurdles

400 Metres Hurdles

High Jump

Pole Vault

Long Jump

Triple Jump

Shot Put

Shot Put (5kg)

Discus Throw

Discus Throw (1.500kg)

Hammer Throw

Hammer Throw (5kg)

Javelin Throw

5000 Metres Race Walk

Abdelaziz Mohamed of Qatar winning the Youth Olympic Games 200m title

Thierry Baptiste of France, 2018 Youth Olympic Games pole vault champion

Haruto Deguchi, Youth Olympic Games 400m hurdles winner

Though deciding medallists based on combined results makes for some head-scratching at the end of an event, the drama the format provides was evident on the fourth day of athletics at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday (14). No more so than in the women&rsquo;s long jump, where a single centimetre separated the three medallists after a bout of last-round drama.
Fourth after stage one, Belgium&rsquo;s Maite Beernaert was out of contention as she failed to get past six metres with her opening three efforts. Then came a timely &ndash; and wind assisted &ndash; 6.31m (2.4m/s) to catapult her to the top of the standings. She was as stunned as her rivals.
&ldquo;Now that I have the medal around my neck, I can be sure that I finished first,&rdquo; said a giddy Beernaert. &ldquo;Before, it was unbelievable. This is the best day of my life!&rdquo;
Klaudia Endresz of Hungary also produced her best in the final round to wrestle silver from Austria&rsquo;s Ingeborg Gruenwald, the first stage winner. The pair ended tied on a combined score of 12.31m, Endresz edging it with her superior second best jump. Gruenwald must have been wondering which god she had wronged: even her 6.20m best leap failed to qualify as a personal best due to the 2.8m/s tailwind. Still, she leaves Buenos Aires with a bronze. 
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High jump winner Chen Long at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics Games</div>
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The men&rsquo;s high jump delivered an extended spectacle, as China&rsquo;s Chen Long and Australia&rsquo;s Oscar Miers both cleared a Youth Olympic record of 2.22m long after the track programme had concluded.
First stage winner Chen carried an eight-centimetre advantage over his Australian rival, but that fact didn&rsquo;t diminish the competition a jot. Chen&rsquo;s performance saw him secure the gold in style, while Miers&rsquo; endeavour meant he moved up from seventh to take silver.
&ldquo;He pushed me to clear that height,&rdquo; said Chen, who is coached by his father, a former pole vaulter. &ldquo;2.22m? I am amazed.&rdquo;
Bronze went to Ukraine&rsquo;s Oleh Doroshchuk, who cleared 2.14m to carry his third-place finish from the first stage.
On the track, too, it was clear just how important stage one performances were in settling the podium. Although Luis Antonia Aviles Ferreiro (46.78) was caught on the line by Zambia&rsquo;s Kennedy Luchembe (46.36) in the second stage of the men&rsquo;s 400m, the Mexican&rsquo;s dominant performance in Thursday&rsquo;s rain meant he remained top in the combined results.
Silver went to Luchembe, the African youth champion, whose wide smile suggested he was happy with his week&rsquo;s work. Bronze returned to the USA via Nicholas Ramey.
<h3>Double winners remove the doubt</h3>
Not that the abacus was in constant use.
Grace Stark was the first gold medallist of the day &ndash; and indeed the week &ndash; after speeding through to win the second stage of the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles in an eye-catching 12.83 (2.8m/s). Stark, who entered the race ranked first after 13.31 in the first stage, came under pressure from Jamaica&rsquo;s Ackera Nugent through the third quarter but remained calm to pull away for the title. 
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Grace Stark leads her heat of the girls' 100m hurdles at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics Games</div>
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Nugent survived an injury over the final barrier to finish second in 12.96, although that was only good enough for bronze, as Australia&rsquo;s Sophie White stayed close enough to retain the silver medal position.
Keely Small was another double stage winner in the 800m to claim the gold. The composed Australian kicked off the final bend and cruised through the line in 2:04.76. Her combined winning margin was 2.8 seconds.
USA&rsquo;s Athing Mu trailed through in second to claim silver. South Africa&rsquo;s Prudence Sekgodiso was the third runner to cross the line but she was later disqualified for a lane infringement, meaning bronze went to Hirut Meshesha of Ethiopia.
Connor Bell backed up his Youth Olympic record throw from stage one (66.84m) with a 66.24m opening round effort in the concluding stage to secure discus gold. The New Zealander was simply a cut above: no other athlete surpassed 60 metres in either stage.
Puerto Rico&rsquo;s Jorge Luis Contreras threw 59.07m to secure silver, while bronze went to Gracjan Kozak of Poland after a personal best of 59.52m.
It was much closer in the women's discus, but stage one winner Melany del Pilar Matheus Morejon was not to be caught after bagging another win. The Cuban improved on her best from Thursday, going out to 54.95m to secure gold ahead of authorised neutral athlete Violetta Ignatyeva. Turkey's Ozlem Becerek was fourth on the day, but her consistency across both series (51.90m and 51.96m) meant she did enough to hold off Alida van Daalen and take bronze.
Leni Freyja Wildgrube impressed as the gold medal winner in the pole vault. The German, who won the first stage in torrid conditions on Thursday, was a class apart in Sunday&rsquo;s sunshine. Though she had some early failures, her winning mark of 4.17m was 20 centimetres better than silver medallist Krystsina Kantsavenka of Bulgaria. France&rsquo;s Emma Brentel cleared 3.92m for bronze.
Girls&rsquo; 400m gold medallist Barbora Malikova was another double stage winning champion. The Czech sprinter showed no signs of fatigue at this advanced stage of the year (she won the European U18 title back in July), flowing through the home straight to win in 54.68.
There was no movement in the medal places behind her, as Germany's Marie Scheppan secured second and silver in 55.15, and Zambia's Niddy Mingilishi crossed third in 55.32 for bronze.
Thomas Byrne for the IAAF

Though deciding medallists based on combined results makes for some head-scratching at the end of an event, the drama the format provides was evident on the fourth day of athletics at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympics Games on Sunday (14). No more so than in the women’s long jump, where a single centimetre separated the three medallists after a bout of last-round drama.

Beernaert secures Youth Olympic gold in spectacle of stages in Buenos Aires

A flurry of Youth Olympic Games Records fell in the field as the sun shone on the third day of athletics in Buenos Aires on Saturday (13).
The six-metre exploits of Armand Duplantis and Timur Morgunov made 2018 the year of the pole vault pretenders &ndash; it was evident at the Youth Olympic Park that more lie in wait. While Estonia's Eerik Haamer put up a clearance 5cm superior to Noel-Aman del Cierro Vilalta&rsquo;s previous championship best of 5.10m, he couldn't defeat Russia's Dmitriy Kachanov, who made that height first time and went on to clear 5.20m.
Impressive vaulting, but still some 10cm short of Kachanov&rsquo;s personal best. More could come in the second stage decider, where one would expect France&rsquo;s Baptiste Thiery &ndash; who also owns a 5.30m PB &ndash; to also challenge.
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Aleksandra Nacheva in Buenos Aires</div>
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Two athletes also bettered the previous record in the women&rsquo;s triple jump. Both Bulgaria's Aleksandra Nacheva and Spain's Maria Vicente hop-step-jumped out to 13.76m in round two to write their names in the books. The stage one win, however, goes to Nacheva, courtesy of her superior second best mark of 13.11m.
There was more history in the first stages of the men&rsquo;s triple jump and women&rsquo;s javelin, as Jordan Diaz and Elina Tzengo also bagged records.
Competing in front of a packed and boisterous stand on the back straight, Cuban Diaz &ndash; the world U18 and U20 champion &ndash; opened up with a record breaking 16.70m, improving it with 17.14m in round two before passing his remaining efforts. Nigeria&rsquo;s Ineh Emmeanuel Oritsemeyiwa was next best with 16.34m (+2.3).
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m happy with the mark, yes,&rdquo; said Diaz. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t have a distance in my head for the second stage, but my aim is always to improve.&rdquo;
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Elina Tzengko of Greece at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires</div>
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Elina Tzengo was also on the double in the javelin. After fouling her first effort &ndash; which went out beyond the championships record line &ndash; the Greek thrower set a personal best and Youth Olympic record of 62.47m in round two, bettering it with her final effort of 63.34m. No other athlete was over 60m, including China&rsquo;s Ying Wang, who entered as the best ranked athlete but could only produce 54.77m for fifth.
The men&rsquo;s javelin was won by Jano Esterhuizen, of South Africa, with a personal best 77.69m. Argentine Gustavo Agustin Osorio placed second with 76.03m &ndash; also a personal best &ndash; to give the home crowd a performance to cheer in a more partisan manner.
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Gustavo Agustin Osorio of Argentina after the javelin throw competition at the Youth Olympic Games</div>
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Of course, like all field events, medals will be decided by combined scores across two stages. Those records, although impressive, will only yield hardware if the athletes can perform once more in stage two.
<h3>Qatari strength on show on the track</h3>
Less than 12 months out from the IAAF World Championships Doha 2019, a pair of Qatari athletes showed good turns of speed on the track.
Owaab Barrow recorded a personal best 13.33 to lead after stage one of the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles. Sharp from the gun, he flew through the middle section to record his lifetime best and earn a small cushion going into the second stage. Hong Kong&rsquo;s Lok Hei Addis Wong was next best, winning his heat in 13.74, while Morocco's Abderrazzak Mouzdahir and France's Kenny Fletcher &ndash; fastest coming into the Games &ndash; both recorded 13.76 to lie within striking distance.
And another Qatari was quickest in the men&rsquo;s 200m, as Abdelaziz Mohamed set a personal best 21.10 to win his heat and lead ahead of stage two. Second swiftest overall was heat two winner, Jamaica&rsquo;s Antonio Watson, who recorded 21.33. The Jamaican is a sub-21 runner at his best: his and Mohamed&rsquo;s second stage clash will be one to watch.
In the women&rsquo;s half-lapper, European youth champion Gudbjorg Jona Bjarnadottir set an Icelandic record as she recorded the fastest time of the three heats. The 16-year-old clocked 23.55 to win her heat with some comfort ahead of Brazil&rsquo;s Leticia Maria Nonato Lima, who recorded 24.16 to go into stage two second overall.
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Competitors in the girls 200m at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires</div>
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Cabezas Caracas was the fastest stage one runner in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles. The Colombian, owning the fastest time of all the entrants, won the first of the three heats in 59.19, although her reaction suggested she was not satisfied with that clocking. Still, it gives her a comfortable lead going into the second stage, with only heat three winner Jessica Vitoria de Oliveira Moreira, of Brazil, joining her with a sub 60-second clocking courtesy of a personal best 59.41.
On the men&rsquo;s side, Japan's Haruto Deguchi was the surprise winner of the first heat. He powered over the final two barriers to set a personal best of 51.40 ahead of South Africa's African Youth champ Lindokuhle Gora, whose 51.70 sees him second overall ahead of the second stage.
In the men&rsquo;s 800m, Tasew Yada, of Ethiopia, was the only man inside 1:50. Yada had the fastest time of the entrants, and showed a late turn of speed to win his heat in 1:49.38. Algerian Mohamed Ali Gouaned crossed second in that race with a personal best 1:50.08 to rank second after the first stage.
The close of today&rsquo;s session concludes the first stages; starting tomorrow, every event in Buenos Aires will be a medal decider.
Thomas Byrne for the IAAF

A flurry of Youth Olympic Games Records fell in the field as the sun shone on the third day of athletics in Buenos Aires on Saturday (13).

Field the focus as four Youth Olympic Games records fall in Buenos Aires

Nazareno Sasia lived up to his billing as one of Argentina&rsquo;s big hopes for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires on Friday (12), making the men&rsquo;s shot put competition his own at the Youth Olympic Park.
The 17-year-old entered with the best throw by any U18 athlete this year courtesy of a South American U18 record 21.40m in August. He underlined his favourite status from the get-go, putting his first shot out to a personal best 21.58m to send the crowd cooing.
Sasia improved further with his last effort, notching 21.94m to give him a 72cm lead over second place, Belarusian Aliaksei Aleksandrovich. His final round best means Aleksandrovich stays within touching distance of the home hero ahead of the second stage, after which combined results decide the medallists.
In the women&rsquo;s shot put, Xinhui Li, China&rsquo;s U18 world leader, was similarly dominant. Three of her four efforts would have won her the stage, though it was her third round 18.42m that stood as her best. Belarus&rsquo; Yelizaveta Dorts was next best with 17.60m.
The favourites also lived up to their billings in the men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 2000m steeplechase races.
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Abrham Sime Tufa of Ethiopia en route to his stage victory at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires</div>
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Ethiopia&rsquo;s African Youth champion Abrham Sime was a cut above in the men&rsquo;s. Wearing the name Tufa on his bib, the 16-year-old ran within himself through the first km before ramping up his pace to win in a personal best 5:34.94. It gives him strong hopes ahead of the cross country distance decider on Monday. Tunisia&rsquo;s birthday boy Ahmed Sayf Kadri was next through the line in 5:44.56 &ndash; a personal best that will go down well with a slice of cake.
The women&rsquo;s race played out in largely similar fashion, with Kenya&rsquo;s world leader Fancy Cherono cruising the first kilometre before breaking decisively. The African Youth champion&rsquo;s 6:26.08 clocking was just shy of two seconds swifter than second place Mekides Abebe, of Ethiopia, while Sri Lanka&rsquo;s Asian U18 champion Parami Wasanthi Maristela&rsquo;s personal best 6:33.06 for third was also notable.
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Fancy Cherono of Kenya in action in the girl's 2000m steeplechase in Buenos Aires</div>
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Ricuo Xi impressed in the women&rsquo;s 5000m race walk, and will fancy her chances of retaining that top ranking after the disqualification of Belarus&rsquo; Hanna Zubkova, the fastest this year of those entered. After breaking on two kilometres, the Chinese walker continued to push and survived two warnings to win in 22:23.26, a personal best and the fastest time by a teenager in 2018. It gives her an advantage of more than six seconds over Mexico&rsquo;s Sofia Ramos Rodriguez, who finished second, also with a personal best.
<h3>Ukrainians prosper in the field</h3>
Any one of Ukraine&rsquo;s Valeriya Ivanenko&rsquo;s four hammer throws would have won her the first stage of the women&rsquo;s contest, all of them thudding down beyond 71 metres, while the best of the rest toiled in the 60s. Ivanenko&rsquo;s best was her fourth, a 74.90m that gives her more than five metres of breathing space over Egypt&rsquo;s Rawan Ayman Ibrahim Barakat.
The men&rsquo;s hammer was also won by a Ukrainian, as the top three threw to form. Event favourite Mykhaylo Kokhan spun out to 84.90m in round three to win, while Valentin Andreev, of Bulgaria, recorded 82.29m for second, and China&rsquo;s Qi Wang 79.46m for third.
High jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh made it a better day still for the Ukraine team. She had the stage won at 1.87m, clearing to see off Russia&rsquo;s Mariya Kochanova. Mahuchikh, the European U18 champion, went over 1.92m first time &ndash; and with some daylight &ndash; before fouling out at 1.95m.
Joshua Cowley made good use of a 2.6 m/s tailwind to edge proceedings in stage one of the men&rsquo;s long jump. The Australian caught a flyer in round three to reach 7.71m and carry a 6cm lead over Cuba&rsquo;s Lester Alcides Lescay Gay, who himself finished 6cm ahead of third place Jason Donavan Tito, of South Africa.
<h3>Fifteen faves prevail while sprinters struggle for speed</h3>
Entering as the fastest in the field, Kenya&rsquo;s Edina Jebitok won the fastest of the two stage one women&rsquo;s races in 4:16.68 to head into the cross country as the 1500m favourite. Australia&rsquo;s Jaylah Hancock-Cameron's personal best of 4:18.44 earned her second in that race and overall. Lemlem Hailu, of Ethiopia, won the first race in 4:25.03, ranking her fifth overall at this stage.
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Edinah Jebitok, winner of the 1500m stage at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires</div>
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The fastest entrant also earned the quickest time in the men&rsquo;s 1500m, as Ethiopia&rsquo;s Melese Kefale moved with 600 metres remaining to win the second heat in 3:52.95. He was quick to congratulate Morocco&rsquo;s Anass Essayi, who came home second in the race and overall in 3:53.75. First heat winner, Burunidan Jean de Dieu Butoyi, enters the cross country ranked third overall, after his 3:54.32 performance.
Headwinds and cold conditions meant less than ideal conditions for sprinting. In the women&rsquo;s 100m, just two athletes broke 12 seconds: Ecuador's Gabriela Suarez (11.97, -3.0) and St Lucia's Julien Alfred (11.99, -1.8).
The sun came out for the men&rsquo;s short sprints, which concluded the day&rsquo;s programme, and it was Luke Davids, of rainbow nation South Africa, who prospered. Despite the 2.3/s headwind in his heat, the 17-year-old left the field in his dust to win in 10.56. Nigeria&rsquo;s Alaba Olukunle Akintola was second in that race in 10.76 to place second overall at this halfway stage.
Thomas Byrne for the IAAF

Nazareno Sasia lived up to his billing as one of Argentina’s big hopes for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires on Friday (12), making the men’s shot put competition his own at the Youth Olympic Park.

Sasia sends Argentine pulses racing at Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires

Uganda&rsquo;s distance runners laid down a strong marker on the opening day of athletics at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games on Thursday (11), as rainy conditions didn&rsquo;t dampen the fierce competition in Buenos Aires&rsquo; Youth Olympic Park.
Distance medallists in Argentina will be decided based on placings over two stages, with 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase athletes all entered for the cross country later in the programme.
In the women&rsquo;s 3000m, Sarah Chelangat won with the sort of strength needed to prosper away from the track. The Ugandan sat happily in the lead group until 1800 metres, when she eased to the front. As Kenya&rsquo;s Mercy Chepkorir and Ethiopia&rsquo;s Abersh Belay sparred for second behind, Chelangat remained unflustered, sprinting from the pair with 200 metres to go to win in a personal best 9:11.63. Chepkorir outdueled Belay to cross in second.
It was a similar story in the men&rsquo;s event, as Oscar Chelimo showed brilliant resilience to hold off Ethiopia&rsquo;s Berihu Teklehaimanot and Kenya&rsquo;s Jackson Muema for another Ugandan win. The three moved to the front with 600 metres to go after reeling in Tanzania&rsquo;s fast-starting Francis Damasi. Chelimo&rsquo;s lead was marginal as the trio hit the bell, but he repelled late surges to cross first in 8:08.20.
A good win for both Ugandans, but they count for nothing until Monday&rsquo;s off-road decider.
It is similarly finely-poised in the women&rsquo;s discus which, like all throwing events, will be decided by combined marks across two stages. Cuba&rsquo;s Melany del Pilar Matheus Morejon was the winner in the first courtesy of a best throw of 53.70m. Her advantage over Russia&rsquo;s Violetta Ignatyeva is just 23cm; Tukey&rsquo;s Ozlem Becerek (51.90m) and China&rsquo;s Quantong Liu (50.30m) were also over the 50-metre mark, making it tight at the top ahead of the second stage. 
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Leni Freyja Wildgrube of Germany in Buenos Aires</div>
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It's not quite as tight in the men's competition, with New Zealand's Connor Bell finding 66.84m with his third attempt to lead by over nine metres ahead of Brazil's Vitor Gabriel Motin, in second.
<h3>Drama in the walks as jumpers battle conditions</h3>
The session began with stage one of the men&rsquo;s 5000m race walk &ndash; like the middle distance and sprint races, results in walks will be combined across two stages to decide the medallists. In this opener, Ecuador&rsquo;s Oscar Patin surged ahead of China&rsquo;s Xin Wang on halfway, with Mexican Cesar Cordoba Fernandez taking up the chase. He moved to the lead with 600 metres to go, kicking hard to cross the line first in 20:09.90.
The drama didn&rsquo;t stop there. Fernandez was given a 30-second penalty for loss of contact, dropping him to fifth and handing the win to Patin, in 20:13.69. Suraj Panwar, of India, crossed in third and therefore took second, comfortably ahead of the fading Wang, who nonetheless earned third overall.
The women&rsquo;s pole vault proved to be a war of attrition, the contest extending close to three hours in worsening conditions. Leni Wildgrube, of Germany, used her efforts wisely, clearing first time at 3.95m after passing the previous height. France&rsquo;s Emma Brentel was five centimetres behind for second, with Estonian Marleen Muella a further five centimetres back in third.
Long Chen, of China, was impressive in the men&rsquo;s high jump, despite worsening conditions. Jumping alone, he cleared 2.13m at the third attempt for a notable first stage win. Finland&rsquo;s Arttu Mattila and Ukraine&rsquo;s Oleh Doroshchuk both went over 2.09m, with Mattila&rsquo;s first time make enough to give him the edge at the half way stage. Six behind cleared 2.05m, queuing up should any of the leaders falter later this week. 
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Luis Antonio Aviles Ferreiro in the opening round of the 400m at the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires</div>
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Austria's Ingeborg Gruenwald has a narrow lead after stage one of the women's long jump. She went out to 6.11m with her third jump for a narrow advantage over Swiss jumper Emma Piffaretti, who recorded 6.06m with her single legal jump.
<h3>Hurdles and mid-distance contests poised after opening stages</h3>
A personal best 13.31 from Grace Stark saw the American win her 100m hurdles heat and also lead overall after the first stage. Australia&rsquo;s Sophia White, fastest coming into the Games, wasn&rsquo;t far behind Stark, claiming second in 13.39 to go into stage two as the second fastest overall. Heat 2 winner Ackera Nugent, of Jamaica, was the only athlete to break 13.5, running 13.45 to leave her well in contention.
The fastest time of the women&rsquo;s 800m heats came out of the final race, as Australia&rsquo;s Keely Small front-ran her way to win in 2:05.68. Next fastest was Germany&rsquo;s Sophia Volkmer, who held form to move past Kenya&rsquo;s Angela Munguti in the final strides to win the opening heat in 2:06.92. The second heat was won by Ethiopia&rsquo;s Hirut Meshesha Mero in 2:08.35 &ndash; her PB of 2:01.16 set this year suggests she will challenge in the second stage.
Barbora Malikova was fastest across the four 400m heats. The Czech, entering as the second-fastest athlete, recorded 54.18 to win the first and top the standings after the first stage. Marie Scheppan was the only other athlete under 55-second, recording 54.91 to enter the deciding stage in second.
On the men&rsquo;s side, Mexico&rsquo;s Luis Antonio Aviles Ferreiro &ndash; ranked the quickest coming into the Games with a PB of 46.04 &ndash; stormed away to win heat 2 in 47.45 &ndash; more than two seconds ahead of Australia&rsquo;s Keegan Bell. It leaves the Mexican in pole position going into the deciding second stage.
Thomas Byrne for the IAAF

Uganda’s distance runners laid down a strong marker on the opening day of athletics at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games on Thursday (11), as rainy conditions didn’t dampen the fierce competition in Buenos Aires’ Youth Olympic Park.

Chelangat and Chelimo impress for Uganda on Youth Olympic Games opener

The provisional entry list for athletics events at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games is now available.
The list can be downloaded as a PDF with entries sorted by event and team [<a href="https://www.iaaf.org/download/downloadresultinfo?filename=06338983-f0cc-45ca-969d-759efb1cd64d.pdf&amp;urlSlug=entry-list" target="_blank" rel="noopener">download</a> | <a href="https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/06338983-f0cc-45ca-969d-759efb1cd64d.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">view</a>]. The provisional list of entries is subject to change ahead of the start of competition.
The athletics programme runs from 11-16 October and will <a href="https://www.iaaf.org/competitions/youth-olympic-games/news/buenos-aires-youth-olympics-athletics-entries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">incorporate some new innovations</a>, including a cross-country race for athletes entered in the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase and a mixed 8x100m relay.
IAAF

The provisional entry list for athletics events at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games is now available.

Provisional entries available for Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Provisional entries for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games confirm that 179 nations will be represented among the 680 allocated places for athletics in the Argentinean capital from 11-16 October.
As with the previous two editions of the Games, there will be two stages to each of the 36 medal disciplines, but this year the format has changed so that the performances from both stages will be added together to determine the overall final placing.
In track events from 100m to 800m, including hurdles events, heats in stage one will be arranged using IAAF seeding rules. The results from the heats will determine the athletes' allocation to the stage two heats.
The top eight athletes from stage one will compete in the last heat in stage two. The remaining athletes will be spread equally over the other heats according to their times in stage one.
The 5000m race walk will have just one heat in each stage. The pit lane rule shall be used; after a third red card, athletes will serve a 30-second penalty. Any further red cards will result in a disqualification.
In the field events, all athletes will compete in one group in both stages. The performance of each athlete in both stages will be added together to determine the overall final placing. In the throws and horizontal jumps, all athletes will have four trials. There will be no change of order after the first three trials.
The 48 boys and 48 girls entered for the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase will contest an individual heat of their specialist distance as the first stage of their competition. The second stage will be held as a 4km cross-country race &ndash; one race for boys and one race for girls &ndash; on the morning of 15 October.
The results of the cross-country race will be adjusted to reflect separate rankings for the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase respectively with medals being allocated accordingly in the three individual track disciplines.
The mixed 8x100m relay, which was introduced in 2014, will also feature at this year's Games and will involve athletes from all track and field disciplines.
During the Games, an extensive culture and education programme will be organised for the athletes in which the IAAF encourages athletes to participate. The parks in Buenos Aires will also host a huge celebration to receive the thousands of spectators who will come out to see the best youth athletes in the world.
IAAF

Provisional entries for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games confirm that 179 nations will be represented among the 680 allocated places for athletics in the Argentinean capital from 11-16 October.

More than 170 nations set to compete at Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games

The IAAF World Cross Country Championships Aarhus 2019 will take place in 200 days&rsquo; time, but Tuesday 11 September marks another important milestone for cross country.
In one month from today, the athletics programme will get under way at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games, where cross-country running will make its debut.
Cross-country running last appeared in the Olympic arena back in 1924 at the summer Games in Paris, but it will feature in the Argentinean capital next month in a new and innovative format.
As is the case with all individual athletics disciplines at the Youth Olympic Games, there will be two stages to the distances events, in which 48 boys and 48 girls will be entered.
In stage one of the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase, all athletes will compete in a heat of their individual event. In the second stage of the competition, all athletes from those three events&nbsp;will compete in a cross-country race &ndash; one race for boys and one race for girls.
The placings of athletes in each individual event and in the cross-country race will be added to determine the overall final placings with the athlete having the lowest total score being the overall winner. The results of the cross-country race will be adjusted to reflect separate rankings for the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase respectively with medals being allocated accordingly in the three individual track disciplines.
For example, an athlete placing second in the 3000m and fourth of the 3000m runners in the cross-country race will receive a final score of six points.
&ldquo;It has long been our desire to see cross country running back in the Olympic Games,&rdquo; said IAAF President Sebastian Coe. &ldquo;We see the inclusion of cross country in the programme for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires as the first step towards its return to the main programme of the Olympic Games."
"Cross country is the endurance bedrock on which all middle and long distance running is based and we believe it deserves this recognition,&rdquo; Coe added.
IAAF

The IAAF World Cross Country Championships Aarhus 2019 will take place in 200 days’ time, but Tuesday 11 September marks another important milestone for cross country.

Countdown continues for cross country’s return to Olympic competition

Three days after being lit by the sun at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Tuesday, the Youth Olympic Games flame made its way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to mark the start of its 60-day journey.
One of the first stops for the iconic flame was the ConSudAtle centenary celebrations, where Argentine Olympic Committee President Gerardo Werthein surprised the audience gathered at the Hotel Panamericano in Buenos Aires.
As a salute to the historic anniversary for athletics in the area, Werthein entered the dinner carrying the Olympic flame housed in a lantern, remarking that he was delighted the flame for the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 could visit the number one sport of the Olympic Games.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Exciting ceremony at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens! 🇬🇷 The Olympic traditions and the energy of the youth came together to produce the youth Olympic flame. 🙌<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/UnitedByTheFlame?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#UnitedByTheFlame</a>🔥 <a href="https://t.co/MqvfB9WStP">pic.twitter.com/MqvfB9WStP</a>
&mdash; Buenos Aires 2018 (@BuenosAires2018) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuenosAires2018/status/1021715368900022272?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 24, 2018</a></blockquote>

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From August to September, the Youth Olympic Games flame will travel 14,000 kilometres around 17 cities of Argentina. The Buenos Aires 2018 Torch Tour will highlight Argentina&rsquo;s cultural and geographical diversity as it travels through the northwest, northeast, Cuyo, Pampa and Patagonia regions.
The flame&rsquo;s tour of the country, which will host the 3rd edition of the Youth Olympic Games later this year, will end on 6 October at the Obelisk in Buenos Aires. This famous city centre monument stands only a matter of a few metres away from the Panamericano hotel in which the ConSudAtle centenary dinner took place.
The dinner show for 100 guests, who included representatives of the IAAF Council, the 13 national athletics associations of South America and star athletes from the area&rsquo;s illustrious history, was hosted by IAAF President Sebastian Coe and ConSudAtle President Roberto Gesta De Melo.
Coe was presented with a Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 torch by Werthein, Argentinian NOC President, in recognition of athletics&rsquo; status as the number one sport of the Olympic Games.
Commenting on the arrival of the Olympic flame and YOG Torch at the dinner, IAAF President Sebastian Coe said: &ldquo;The Olympic flame is an extraordinary iconic symbol. A symbol which calls athletes and nations together. A symbol of fair and friendly competition. A symbol of inspiration and hope. A symbol that quite literally represents sport at all levels. I am looking forward to returning to Buenos Aires for the Youth Olympic Games later this year.&rdquo;
IAAF

Three days after being lit by the sun at Panathenaic Stadium in Athens on Tuesday, the Youth Olympic Games flame made its way to Buenos Aires, Argentina, to mark the start of its 60-day journey.

Youth Olympic Games torch starts tour of Argentina with visit to 100 years of athletics celebration dinner

The IAAF is looking to discover an announcer for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Are you passionate about athletics? Can you engage an audience? Could you be the new voice of future global championships?
The &lsquo;Voice of YOG&rsquo; competition invites fans between the ages of 18 and 35 to submit a 60-second clip of their own commentary. Entries will be judged by an expert panel and the winner will earn the opportunity to be an announcer for the athletics competitions at the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
Budding announcers can choose between two clips on which to commentate: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVuZlPqlu34" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fabiana Murer&rsquo;s winning vault at the IAAF World Championships Daegu 2011</a>, or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gz75YPI6qiQ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Felix Sanchez&rsquo;s 400m hurdles victory at the London 2012 Olympic Games</a>.
Users can watch the clips online on IAAF&rsquo;s YouTube channel and record their voice-over selfie video with their smartphone before posting it on Instagram or Twitter, using the hashtag #IAAFvoiceofYOG.
The expert panel &ndash; which includes Murer, Sanchez and Olympic medallist-turned-commentator Katharine Merry &ndash; will review the clips and whittle down the entries to a short list of three candidates. The winner will be announced in early September.
Entrants must be fluent in English and have a passionate and engaging voice. A strong knowledge of athletics is, of course, a bonus as well as basic skills in Spanish.
The prize includes a meet and greet with Murer and Sanchez, while on-site training will be given by the IAAF&rsquo;s event presentation manager. Travel, accommodation, transport and meals will also be provided. Entrants must be available from 8-18 October and be willing to travel by plane.
The competition will officially open today, 24 July, and run until 19 August.
<a href="https://www.iaaf.org/voice-yog-terms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Full terms and conditions</a>.
IAAF

The IAAF is looking to discover an announcer for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games.

IAAF seeks new announcing talent in ‘Voice of YOG’ competition 

<a href="#FR">Fran&ccedil;ais</a>
<a href="https://www.iaaf.org/download/download?filename=37289bff-95c3-405b-97da-bb9f7b40dcca.pdf&amp;urlSlug=buenos-aires-2018-youth-olympic-games-athleti" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The timetable of the athletics programme for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games has been published</a> and, as was originally announced at the IAAF Council Meeting in Beijing in 2015, innovatively includes a cross-country element.
As has been the case since the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in 2010, there are two stages to each individual athletics discipline.
In stage one of the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase, all athletes will compete in a heat of their individual event. In the second stage of the competition, all athletes from those three events will compete in a combined 4-5km (distance tbc) cross-country event, one race for boys and one race for girls.
The placings of athletes in each individual event and in the cross-country race will be added to determine the overall final placings with the athlete having the lowest total score being the overall winner. The results of the cross-country race will be adjusted to reflect separate rankings for the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase respectively with medals being allocated accordingly.
For example, an athlete placing second in the 3000m and fourth of the 3000m runners in the cross-country race will receive a final score of six points.
&ldquo;Cross country is the endurance bedrock on which middle and long distance running is founded,&rdquo; said IAAF President Sebastian Coe. &ldquo;We need to help ensure that coaches understand cross country&rsquo;s importance to an athlete&rsquo;s development and background. It was a vital component to my success on the track. I&rsquo;m therefore delighted at the innovative way that track and cross country have been combined at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games. Overall success at the 1500m, 3000m and 2000m steeplechase track events in Buenos Aires is directly linked to cross country performance.
&ldquo;It is a personal view and a long held one but I would love to see cross country back in the Olympic Games,&rdquo; added Coe.
The inclusion of cross country is the latest innovation at the Youth Olympic Games. The 2014 edition welcomed the introduction of a mixed 8x100m shuttle relay, comprising athletes from different countries and disciplines. The mixed 8x100m shuttle relay will once again feature on the programme for 2018 as an exhibition event on the seventh and final day of competition.
<a name="FR"></a>IAAF
&nbsp;
<hr />
<h1 style="font-size: 40px; line-height: 35px;">Les Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse de Buenos Aires 2018 innovent avec l&rsquo;int&eacute;gration du cross au programme de la comp&eacute;tition</h1>
<a href="https://www.iaaf.org/download/download?filename=37289bff-95c3-405b-97da-bb9f7b40dcca.pdf&amp;urlSlug=buenos-aires-2018-youth-olympic-games-athleti" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Le programme et les horaires des &eacute;preuves d&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme des Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse de Buenos Aires 2018 ont &eacute;t&eacute; publi&eacute;s</a>&nbsp;et, ainsi que cela l&rsquo;avait &eacute;t&eacute; annonc&eacute; &agrave; l&rsquo;origine lors de la R&eacute;union du Conseil de l&rsquo;IAAF de P&eacute;kin en 2015, ce programme innove avec l&rsquo;int&eacute;gration du cross.
Comme c&rsquo;est le cas depuis la premi&egrave;re &eacute;dition des Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse, en 2010, chaque discipline individuelle d&rsquo;athl&eacute;tisme se compose de deux phases.
Lors de la premi&egrave;re phase des 1 500 m, 3 000 m et 2 000 m steeple, tous les athl&egrave;tes prendront part &agrave; une s&eacute;rie dans leur propre discipline individuelle. Puis, lors de la seconde phase de la comp&eacute;tition, tous les athl&egrave;tes de ces trois disciplines s&rsquo;affronteront dans une unique course combin&eacute;e de cross de 4 &agrave; 5 km (la distance exacte reste &agrave; confirmer), avec une course masculine et une course f&eacute;minine.
Les classements des athl&egrave;tes dans chaque &eacute;preuve individuelle et dans le cross seront ensuite additionn&eacute;s afin de d&eacute;terminer les classements finaux, et c&rsquo;est l&rsquo;athl&egrave;te ayant le score total final le plus bas qui sera d&eacute;clar&eacute; vainqueur. Les r&eacute;sultats du cross seront ajust&eacute;s pour refl&eacute;ter des classements distincts respectivement pour le 1 500 m, le 3 000 m et le 2 000 m steeple, afin de d&eacute;cerner des m&eacute;dailles.
Par exemple, un athl&egrave;te terminant deuxi&egrave;me du 3 000 m et quatri&egrave;me des coureurs du 3000 m au terme du cross aura engrang&eacute; un total final de six points.
&laquo;&nbsp;Le cross est la base m&ecirc;me du fond et du demi-fond, a soulign&eacute; le pr&eacute;sident de l&rsquo;IAAF Sebastian Coe. Nous devons faire en sorte que les entra&icirc;neurs comprennent bien l&rsquo;importance du cross pour le d&eacute;veloppement et l&rsquo;exp&eacute;rience d&rsquo;un athl&egrave;te. Le cross a &eacute;t&eacute; un &eacute;l&eacute;ment essentiel de mes succ&egrave;s sur la piste. Je suis donc particuli&egrave;rement ravi de voir cette fa&ccedil;on d&rsquo;innover avec la combinaison de la piste et du cross lors des Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse de Buenos Aires 2018. Les r&eacute;sultats obtenus dans les disciplines des 1 500 m, 3 000 m et 2 000 m steeple &agrave; Buenos Aires 2018 seront ainsi directement li&eacute;s aux performances r&eacute;alis&eacute;es lors de l&rsquo;&eacute;preuve de cross.
&laquo;&nbsp;C&rsquo;est un point de vue personnel que j&rsquo;ai depuis longtemps mais j&rsquo;adorerais voir le retour du cross au programme des Jeux Olympiques&nbsp;&raquo;, a ajout&eacute; Coe.
L&rsquo;inclusion du cross au programme est l&rsquo;innovation la plus r&eacute;cente annonc&eacute;e pour les Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse de Buenos Aires 2018. L&rsquo;&eacute;dition 2014 avait vu l&rsquo;introduction d&rsquo;un relais navette 8 x 100 m mixte, rassemblant des &eacute;quipes m&ecirc;lant des athl&egrave;tes de diff&eacute;rents pays et de diff&eacute;rentes disciplines. Le relais navette 8 x 100 m figurera &agrave; nouveau au programme des JOJ de Buenos Aires en 2018 comme &eacute;preuve de d&eacute;monstration au cours de la septi&egrave;me et derni&egrave;re journ&eacute;e de la comp&eacute;tition.
IAAF

The timetable of the athletics programme for the Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games has been published and, as was originally announced at the IAAF Council Meeting in Beijing in 2015, innovatively includes a cross-country element.

Cross country innovatively included in programme for Buenos Aires 2018 Youth Olympic Games 

When Martin Manley settled down in the blocks for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games boys&rsquo; 400m final inside a steaming hot Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, he did so with the thought that it could be the last one-lap race of his life.If this seems an unlikely thought for an athlete who only last year stormed to the world youth title and this year recorded 46.24 &ndash; the second-fastest time in the world this year for a youth &ndash; then you would be right.&nbsp;&nbsp; Yet the 17-year-old Jamaican sets very high standards. He was disillusioned he could not match the 45.89 time he recorded when taking the world youth crown in Ukraine, and he was gutted to underperform at last month&rsquo;s World Junior Championships and exit the 400m at the semi-final stage.&ldquo;It was really frustrating, because I was not running the times I had hoped for or expected,&rdquo; said Manley. &ldquo;Every time I tried to run (the 400m) I fell off the times I wanted by one or two seconds. If I had lost (at the Youth Olympic Games) I would have switched to the 200m. I think that would be a good event for me.&rdquo;However, the termination of his fledgling 400m career has not transpired, at least not yet. Running in the blistering late morning heat in eastern China, he stopped the clock in 46.31. Manley&rsquo;s 400m career was back on track.&ldquo;This has lifted a lot of pressure on me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It settles me knowing that I&rsquo;ve still got it. It eases the bittersweet season.&ldquo;The test of being a true champion is how you come back from a knockdown,&rdquo; he added. &ldquo;The Youth Olympics has eased my frustration.&rdquo;Raised in the town of Portmore in the St Catherine parish on the Caribbean island noted for its speed, in some respects Manley &ndash; a student at the famed St Jago High School &ndash; is the accidental 400m runner. A 100m and 200m specialist in his younger days, as his grades at school dropped, his mother insisted he quit track to focus on his studies.For three months he did not run a step until his coach, Danny Hawthorne, a former mentor to Yohan Blake, approached Manley&rsquo;s mother in an effort to persuade her to grant her son the chance to give track another try.She agreed and, in his very first session back, Hawthorne suggested a change of focus for Manley.&ldquo;It was a hill training day and he (Hawthorne) looked at me and said, &lsquo;you remind me of Bert Cameron (the 1983 world 400m champion and a former St Jago student), so why don&rsquo;t you try the 400m?&rsquo; &ldquo;I said I didn&rsquo;t want to because listening to others talk about it (the event), it was just a total turn off,&rdquo; said Manley.Yet Hawthorne persisted, Manley relented and in early 2012 he made his 400m debut, running 52.4. Within weeks, he had dipped below 50 seconds. Last season the progress was staggering, culminating in his global triumph in Donetsk, Ukraine, last summer. His 400m mark at the IAAF World Youth Championships has only been bettered by only one Jamaican youth in history, a certain Usain Bolt.This year may have had its frustrations on the track, but off it he is also had to cope with tragedy. His school friend Cavahn McKenzie tragically collapsed and died in February after finishing a race at the NACAC Cross Country Championships in Tobago. In remembrance of his friend, Manley scrawled his name across his bib in Nanjing.Turning to the future, he still has one more goal in age-group athletics: to go one step better than his idol, the Olympic 400m champion Kirani James, and win at the 2016 World Junior Championships in Kazan.&ldquo;Kirani won the world junior and world youth title but never the Youth Olympics," he said, appearing to be an astute student of his event&rsquo;s history. "If I&rsquo;m lucky enough to win the World Junior title (in 2016) I will be the first (400m runner) to win all three."Steve Landells for the IAAF

When Martin Manley settled down in the blocks for the 2014 Youth Olympic Games boys’ 400m final inside a steaming hot Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, he did so with the thought that it could be the last one-lap race of his life.

Youth Olympic gold saves Manley from turning his back on the 400m

Think of the words Olympic, 400m and Australia, and Cathy Freeman almost certainly comes to mind.The Australian track icon who ignited the 2000 Olympic Games on home turf in Sydney with her captivating gold medal-winning display amid a blizzard of camera flashes will always remain a most treasured athletics memories for many.However, a new Australian one-lap star with her own successful Olympic 400m story to share could just prove the long-awaited successor to the lionised Freeman. Jessica Thornton, who was still in nappies at the time of Freeman's gold medal performance some 14 years ago, produced a breakout performance at the recent Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing to strike gold in the girls’ 400m.She came into the Games as the sixth ranked athlete on time but majestically rose to the occasion in a way Freeman would have been proud of, slicing 1.40 from her lifetime best during the competition and recording 52.50 to strike gold in the final.Predictably elated with her success, Thornton found the time to praise the key role her coach Michael Dooley, her family and training partners played in her gold medal success. Yet she also acknowledged the small sprinkling of inspiration Freeman provided too.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; “Her (Freeman’s) success means a lot,” admits Thornton, who has watched replays of Freeman's Olympic gold medal winning run countless times. “She kept pushing and pushing to win that gold. I have also got that knowledge in my mind of never giving up. Cathy Freeman – I love her.”Sydney-based Thornton, the youngest of three siblings, knew she was fast for as long as she can remember. She recalls beating her older cousins in street races from the age of four. Just two years later she started competing in Little Athletics – the popular youth athletics programme which has proved the breeding ground for so many top athletes in Australia. She excelled at a range of events from the 100m up to the 800m as well as the long jump and triple jump. But Thornton, in more recent times, has discovered her qualities were best suited to the unique demands of the 400m.Mixed talent“I competed in 800m up until I was an under-11 or 12, so I have the endurance, but I also have good 100m and 200m speed as well.”She enjoyed success at national age group level at 100m, 200m and 400m, but credits the specific one-lap work she has put in with Dooley, her coach for a little over a year, as being instrumental in her startling progression.“It was leading up to nationals (all-schools) in Townsville last December when I really started to get serious and Michael got me to real start focusing on the 400m,” he said. “He has helped a lot with my hip stability, getting my knees up and my posture. My stride is also longer and that has allowed me to run quicker times.”Thornton also believes training in an organised training group has had a positive impact. Prior to linking up with Dooley, she principally trained on her own, but undergoing regular sessions with quality athletes&nbsp;– including her good friend and Youth Olympic girls' 100m bronze medallist Sam Geddes – has helped accelerate her progression.&nbsp; “Training in a group has made it easier,” says Thornton, whose father is a police officer and whose mother is a personal fitness trainer “I get to race people in a competitive environment and this has allowed the times to drop.”Thornton quietly hinted at her potential by recording a personal best of 53.90 at the All-Schools in Townsville last December aged just 15. A hamstring issue took the edge off her unveiling her absolute best form in the heart of the Australian summer season, but after enjoying a solid and uninterrupted period of training, she arrived in Nanjing primed and ready for action.Inside the stunning Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre Stadium, the teenager slashed more than a second from her best to lead the qualifiers for the girls' 400m A final with 52.78 in her heat. In the final, the Aussie ran quicker again, executing a smart tactical race to time her run for the line to perfection and defeat Salwa Naser of Bahrain by 0.24, the second-fastest 400m time by a female youth this year.Marrakesh express“I trained my hardest preparing for these Games and all the hard work in has paid off,” she added in the immediate wake of her success. “I just tried to stay relaxed and tried not to over-think it. I've gained a lot of confidence from this win.”As a postscript to her triumph in China, the Youth Olympic Games will not represent the full stop to her season. She has earned a mouth-watering invite to feature in the 4x400m squad for the Asia-Pacific team at the IAAF Continental Cup in Marrakesh next month&nbsp;– an opportunity she admitted acted as a boost ahead of her Nanjing quest.“The day after I arrived (in Nanjing) I found out I was on the team (for Marrakesh). It made me want to run event faster here.”As an athlete born in 1998, Thornton will also be eligible for the IAAF World Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia, next July where she hopes to adopt the same attitude which has held in good stead this year.“The aim is to set a PB and if that allows me to reach the final or to win a medal or to win the gold than that's fine. I just want to try my best.”It is an attitude her great Australian countrywoman Cathy Freeman would truly appreciate.Steve Landells for the IAAF

Think of the words Olympic, 400m and Australia, and Cathy Freeman almost certainly comes to mind.

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