Track action from the fourth afternoon of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 was highlighted by the completion of an epic sprints double for phenom Bayanda Walaza on Friday (30).
The South African sprinting sensation tonight added a win in the men&rsquo;s 200m to his title in the 100m from earlier in the week. Walaza simply exploded out of the blocks and the high-quality start ensured he could not be caught by his competitors, finishing in 20.52 (-0.7m/s).
Australia&rsquo;s Gout Gout did make a gallant effort to close the gap and his hard-charging finish earned him the silver in a PB of 20.60. The 16-year-old broke his own area U18 best and national U18 record with the time. Jake Odey-Jordan of Great Britain took the bronze in 20.81.
Walaza formed part of South Africa&rsquo;s silver medal-winning 4x100m team at the Olympics in Paris and two other Olympians were expected to vie for the title in the women&rsquo;s 200m, with Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands and Torrie Lewis of Australia bringing to Lima their experience from the 200m semifinals in Paris. In the end, it was Hodge who took the title in 22.74 (0.0m/s), upgrading her silver medal from the 100m earlier in these championships.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Hodge got out of the starting blocks well and ran a strong curve, with Lewis challenging her off the curve and well into the homestretch. Hodge, however, had superior strength over the last 25 metres and moved clear of the field to earn her first global U20 gold.&nbsp;
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Lewis was rewarded for her effort with the silver medal and a PB of 22.88. Jamaica&rsquo;s Shanoya Mikalia Douglas, who came into the competition with the fastest season&rsquo;s best of 22.59, was third in 23.10.
After an impressive 13.11 semifinal performance, all eyes were on Ja&rsquo;Kobe Tharp of the US in the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles final. Tharp exceeded all expectations, taking the win while delivering a 13.05 (-0.5m/s) lifetime best, a national U20 record over the 99cm hurdles, and a world U20 lead.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I knew to get the gold medal means my time was going to have to be faster and I came out and did that; that's all I wanted,&rdquo; said Tharp.
Tharp is the first US athlete in eight years to earn the global U20 crown. The accomplishment completes an historic season as earlier this year he broke the area U20 record over senior height 110m hurdles and was second at the NCAA Championships.&nbsp;
Andre Korbmacher arguably had a stronger start than his US compatriot, which helped him to earn the silver in a PB of 13.14. The 1-2 punch strengthened the US position at the top of the medal table. Chen Yuanjiang of China recorded a national U20 record of 13.21 to place third.&nbsp;
Kerrica Hill of Jamaica successfully defended her 2022 title from Cali by winning the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles final in 12.99 (-0.3m/s). Hill had a strong start and never looked back; in fact, she comfortably led each round of competition and was the only athlete to break 13 seconds during these championships.&nbsp;
&ldquo;It feels good to win and, as I said before, I came here to run my own race,&rdquo; said Hill.
Croatia&rsquo;s Mia Wild was second in 13.15, giving her PB of 13.10 a good scare. Delta Amidzovski extended her extraordinary meet, earning bronze in 13.24 after taking gold in the women&rsquo;s long jump earlier in the week. Amidzovski was just 20th on the descending order list of season&rsquo;s bests coming in to Lima but executed well on the day to secure her podium spot.
Kenya&rsquo;s Sarah Moraa controlled the women&rsquo;s 800m final from early on and held on strongly to win in an impressive 2:00.36. The title caps off a tremendous season for Moraa, who was third at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in June. Moraa is the cousin of world champion Mary Moraa, who herself was fifth at the 2018 World U20 Championships.
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Australia&rsquo;s Claudia Hollingsworth made a valiant attempt to pass Moraa in the final homestretch but Moraa was able to find another gear to surge to the finish line first. Hollingsworth, who came in with the fastest PB in the field (1:58.40) and was a semifinalist at the Paris Olympic Games, had to settle for silver in 2:00.36. Sophia Gorriaran of the US rounded out the podium, earning bronze in 2:01.04.&nbsp;
Though the men&rsquo;s 800m final was quick, it still came down to a kick on the homestretch, with General Berhanu Ayansa of Ethiopia emerging on top in a winning time of 1:46.86. Ayansa came into the competition with just the fourth-best personal best (1:45.45) but was patient over the course of the race and timed his finish to perfection to take the gold.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Australia&rsquo;s Peyton Craig arrived in Lima as the favourite, with the swiftest PB, the Oceanian U20 record and a semifinals appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris to his name. Despite a long season, he accelerated well towards the conclusion of the race and ended up in second in 1:46.95. Ko Ochiai of Japan, the Asian U20 champion and national U20 record-holder, was third in 1:47.03.
Ethiopia&rsquo;s Aleshign Baweke won the women&rsquo;s 3000m in 8:50.32. Though Ethiopia hadn&rsquo;t won the women&rsquo;s 3000m at the U20 Championships since 2016, the country was expected to take the crown in Lima as their entrants led the field on PBs and season&rsquo;s bests by a significant margin.&nbsp;
Marion Jepnegetich of Kenya, who had led the final for much of the race, was passed in the final 200 metres by Baweke. The move was confident and emphatic, guaranteeing Baweke the top spot on the podium. Jepnegetich held on for silver in 8:52.37.&nbsp;
Marta Alemayo of Ethiopia took bronze in 8:53.64. The performance confirmed a two-medal haul in this event for her country and puts Ethiopia second overall on the medal table. Innes Fitzgerald of Great Britain finished outside of the podium, but still ran a PB 8:57.01 to take fourth.&nbsp;
In non-finals action, Michelle Smith of the Virgin Islands continued her campaign to become her country&rsquo;s first world U20 champion. She led all qualifiers in the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles semifinals with her 56.39. She will be joined in the final by fellow heat winners Meta Tumba of France (56.79) and Jasmine Robinson of the US (57.37). France will have two women in the final after Candice von Plauen ran a PB 56.81 to finish just behind Smith in the second section.&nbsp;
A score of fast times highlighted the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles semifinals, where five competitors ran at or under 50 seconds. Antti Sainio of Finland won the second heat and led all qualifiers with his world U20 leading time of 49.36. Czechia&rsquo;s Michal Rada crossed the line at the same time and was also credited with the world U20 lead. It was a PB and national U20 record for each athlete.&nbsp;
Both time qualifiers to the final came out of that same section, with Vance Nilsson of the US running 49.82 and Spain&rsquo;s Joaquin Alonso running a national U20 record of 50.22. In the first heat, South Africa&rsquo;s Njabulo Mbatha won the first heat in 49.90. Pushing Mbatha to the line in that section was Sam Lunt of Great Britain, who ran a national U20 record of 50.00. Jamaica&rsquo;s Daniel Wright won the third and final heat in 51.11.
Jessi Gabriel for World Athletics

World Athletics U20 Championships

Track action from the fourth afternoon of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 was highlighted by the completion of an epic sprints double for phenom Bayanda Walaza on Friday

Walaza storms to sprint double at World U20 Championships in Lima

A championship record of 8425 points in the decathlon by Czechia&rsquo;s Tomas Jarvinen and a huge leap of 8.17m by Croatia&rsquo;s Roko Farkas to win the long jump were among the highlights on the fourth evening of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Friday (30).&nbsp;
Jarvinen went into day two of the decathlon in a dominant position and the 18-year-old kept the momentum rolling, clocking 13.78 in the 110m hurdles followed by a huge PB of 49.18m in the discus, a 4.60m clearance in the pole vault, a 55.79m javelin throw and another big PB of 4:29.78 in the 1500m.&nbsp;
Poland&rsquo;s Hubert Trosciaka produced a PB of 8230 to win silver, featuring three personal bests in the 400m (47.24), 1500m (4:24.41) and long jump (7.27m). Dutch athlete Florian Vriezen claimed bronze with a PB of 8230.
Jarvinen was just 10 points shy of Niklas Kaul&rsquo;s world U20 record and he moved to second on the world U20 all-time list after a remarkable two days where he produced the best marks in five of the 10 disciplines and led the field every step of the way.
&ldquo;I am completely shocked,&rdquo; said Jarvinen. &ldquo;I know I did my best on two days. The event I like the most is probably the discus throw and the least is probably the 100m. For the next year, I will try to get to the World Championships.&rdquo;
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A decathlete also stole the show in the men&rsquo;s long jump final. Unable to contest the decathlon this season because of a shoulder injury, Farkas focused on the 200m for the European Championships in Rome and the long jump for Lima.
The big question on Friday was whether Farkas could live up to his heroics in long jump qualification, where he obliterated his PB to jump 8.15m. For much of the final, it appeared he couldn&rsquo;t, managing a best of 7.81m through the opening three rounds. But then in round four, with the benefit of a 2.4m/s tailwind, he soared to 8.17m, the longest winning jump in the championships&rsquo; history, which was comfortably good enough for gold.&nbsp;
Silver went to Serbia&rsquo;s Luka Boskovic with 7.93m while Australia&rsquo;s Mason McGroder set a PB of 7.80m to take bronze.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I was really happy after the qualifications but we have been really, really working for this competition for long jump and I just went for it,&rdquo; said Farkas, who had done a training camp in Chile to prepare. &ldquo;I'm technically a decathlete so it was a bit challenging to switch to long jump for this competition but we made it.&rdquo;
The women&rsquo;s javelin final featured the most dominant victory of the championships to date, China&rsquo;s Yan Ziyi unleashing a 63.05m throw in the fourth round to take gold by almost nine metres, with Chinese Taipei&rsquo;s Chu Pin-Hsun taking silver with 54.28m ahead of USA&rsquo;s Evelyn Bliss (54.01m).
Yan threw 64.28m in Hangzhou in April to set the world U20 record and the 16-year-old underlined her vast potential with the first javelin gold medal for China at these championships, which is unlikely to be her last given she will be eligible for the 2026 edition in Oregon.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I had an injury for the last three months but today I got a good result and a gold medal,&rdquo; said Yan. &ldquo;I am a little sad because I (missed) the championship record, but I'm young and I can try again in two years.&rdquo;
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Javelin winner Yan Ziyi at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 (&copy; Christel Saneh for World Athletics)
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The men&rsquo;s pole vault turned into a riveting head-to-head duel between Germany&rsquo;s Hendrik Muller and Japan&rsquo;s Rikuya Yoshida, with Muller snatching victory with his third-time clearance at 5.45m. He is the first German to win this title since Raphael Holzdeppe in 2008. Yoshida earned a superb silver via his PB of 5.40m, with Czechia&rsquo;s Jan Krcek also setting a PB for bronze with 5.30m.&nbsp;
In the men&rsquo;s high jump, USA&rsquo;s Scottie Vines soared to new heights &ndash; literally &ndash; by winning the world U20 title and setting a PB of 2.25m. He had a perfect record up until 2.23m and he was then locked in a battle with Italy&rsquo;s Matteo Sioli for gold. Both went over 2.23m at the third attempt and a first-time clearance of 2.25m by Vines handed him gold, with Sioli settling for a PB and silver. Japan&rsquo;s Kaisei Nakatani took bronze with a best of 2.19m.&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s shot put final saw USA&rsquo;s Akaoma Odeluga live up to her favourite&rsquo;s billing as she took a commanding victory with a best of 17.34m, which came in the fourth round. She had a shaky start to the competition with a best of 15.85m through the opening three rounds, well down on the PB of 18.13m she set to finish eighth at the US Olympic Trials.&nbsp;
But her 17.34m put the competition to bed, handing her victory by almost a metre over Czechia&rsquo;s Martina Mazurova, who set a PB of 16.38m for silver, while Chiang Ching-Yuan of Chinese Taipei claimed bronze with a national U20 record of 16.01m.
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

A championship record of 8425 points in the decathlon by Tomas Jarvinen and a huge leap of 8.17m by Roko Farkas to win the long jump were among the highlights on the fourth evening of action

Jarvinen threatens world U20 decathlon record to get gold in Lima

Rayen Cherni set a championship record in the men&rsquo;s 10,000m race walk to win the first ever gold medal for Tunisia at the World Athletics U20 Championships, while China&rsquo;s Baima Zhuoma dominated the women&rsquo;s race during the final morning session of action in Lima on Friday (30).
In a hard-fought men&rsquo;s race, the top 17 all set area or national U20 records, or achieved PBs, with Cherni winning in an African U20 record of 39:24.85, Mexico&rsquo;s Emiliano Barba securing silver in a North and Central American U20 record of 39:27.10 and Italy&rsquo;s Giuseppe Disabato gaining bronze in a national U20 record of 39:31.25.
Australia&rsquo;s Isaac Beacroft, who won the U20 title on the roads at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya in April, finished fourth on the track in Lima, setting an Oceanian U20 record of 39:36.39, while Japan&rsquo;s Sohtaroh Osaka finished fifth in a PB of 39:39.36.
"I feel like I am in a state of endless joy," said the winner.
It was Germany&rsquo;s Frederick Weigel who had taken the early lead, but Osaka, Beacroft and Kenya&rsquo;s Stephen Ndangiri Kihu took control by the halfway point, passed in 20:05.03.
As the pace gradually picked up, the lead pack whittled down, and Barba, Disabato and Cherni made their break. Six athletes remained in contention with four laps to go and eventually 17-year-old Cherni left his rivals behind to win by more than two seconds.
In the women&rsquo;s race, Baima looked calm and in control throughout. The field quickly spaced out and the 19-year-old, who claimed Asian U20 silver in April, was well clear as she passed the 5000m mark in 21:47.33.
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Baima Zhuoma on her way to the world U20 10,000m race walk title (&copy; Oscar Munoz Badilla)
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She was followed by India&rsquo;s Aarti and her Chinese teammate Chen Meiling, last year&rsquo;s Asian U20 champion, with Romania&rsquo;s 17-year-old Alessia Cristina Pop, the European U18 silver medallist, looking determined behind them.
While Baima was never under threat, Aarti seemed to be moving away from Chen, but with two red cards Aarti had to be cautious and Chen made her move, passing her rival with three and a half laps to go.
Baima maintained her lead to cruise to victory in a world U20 lead and big PB of 43:26.60, as Chen held on for silver to complete a 1-2 for China in a PB of 44:30.67. Aarti claimed bronze in an Indian U20 record of 44:39.39, while Pop also set a national U20 record of 44:54.32 in fourth. Similar to the men&rsquo;s race, the top 16 all set national records or PBs.
"I was nervous at first," said&nbsp;Baima, "but my coach told me: 'It's okay. If you fail, you fail, just keep going.'"
<h2>Jarvinen in decathlon spotlight</h2>
Czechia&rsquo;s Tomas Jarvinen maintained his winning momentum in the decathlon and put himself on track for a big score.
The overnight leader started day two with 4358 points, 211 ahead of Poland&rsquo;s Hubert Troscianka.&nbsp;Jarvinen&nbsp;won the 110m hurdles in 13.78 but made a huge statement in the discus, throwing 49.18m &ndash; a PB by more than eight metres &ndash; to dominate that discipline.
He then cleared 4.60m, 10cm off his PB, in the pole vault and with&nbsp;two events to go &ndash; the javelin and 1500m &ndash; he has 7004 points. Troscianka remains in second on 6585 after clocking 14.26, throwing 44.98m and clearing 4.40m.
Florian Vriezen of the Netherlands moved up into third on 6355 after clearing a PB of 4.80m in the pole vault, matching the height achieved by Alexandre Montagne of France who sits in fourth place on&nbsp;6328.
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Tomas Jarvinen celebrates his discus throw in the world U20 decathlon in Lima (&copy; Enzo Santos Barreiro)
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The penultimate day of competition at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 got off to a busy start, with heats for the 4x100m and 4x400m also all taking place.
After their mixed 4x400m team claimed gold on the opening day, Australia went quickest in the women&rsquo;s 4x400m heats and also progressed safely from the first round of the men&rsquo;s heats.
The women&rsquo;s team clocked 3:33.55, with the other heats won by Italy (3:34.14) and Colombia (3:38.01).
USA went quickest in the men&rsquo;s heats, running 3:05.16. Australia won their heat in 3:08.99 and Japan the third heat in 3:07.04.
Jamaica (43.81), anchored by individual 100m champion Alana Reid, plus USA (44.22), Australia (44.76) and Switzerland (44.88) were among the teams to qualify for the women&rsquo;s 4x100m final, but Great Britain, Nigeria and France were among those to miss out following disqualification.
South Africa, whose men&rsquo;s 4x100m squad in Lima features two of the athletes who claimed relay silver at the Paris Olympics in Bayanda Walaza and Bradley Nkoana, will not have the chance to attempt to add a world U20 honour to that Olympic medal after they were unable to get the baton around. USA will also miss out as they could not complete their heat.
Jamaica qualified quickest, winning their heat in 39.54. They will be joined in the final by Thailand, who were anchored by individual silver medallist Puripol Boonson and set a national U20 record of 39.56, and Korea, also with a national U20 record of 39.71.
Jarno van Daalen will have the opportunity to go for a second throws medal in Lima after winning the shot put title on day one. The Dutch athlete didn&rsquo;t manage the automatic qualification mark of 60.00m but his 58.92m was enough for him to advance.&nbsp;
Five athletes did surpass 60 metres: South Africa&rsquo;s Juan Marais (61.54m) and Michael Wesley Badenhorst (60.09m PB), Ukraine&rsquo;s 2022 bronze medallist Mykhailo Brudin (61.39m), USA&rsquo;s Bryce Ruland (61.11m PB), China&rsquo;s Jiang Zehao (60.63m)
Three athletes achieved the automatic qualification mark of 15.80m in the women&rsquo;s shot put, USA&rsquo;s Akaoma Odeluga leading the way with 16.55m. Czechia&rsquo;s Martina Mazurova threw a PB of 16.13m and Chiang Ching-Yuan of Chinese Taipei, who finished sixth in the discus, managing 15.87m. Australia&rsquo;s discus bronze medallist Marley Raikiwasa also did enough to progress to the final with a best throw of 14.63m, but USA&rsquo;s Gracelyn Leiseth just missed out with her best of 14.42m.
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

Rayen Cherni set a championship record to win the first ever gold medal for Tunisia at the World Athletics U20 Championships, while China’s Baima Zhuoma dominated the women’s race

Cherni and Baima claim world U20 race walk crowns in Lima

The field events delivered fireworks on Thursday (29), the third day of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24.&nbsp;
Iosif Kesidis of Cyprus came into the men&rsquo;s hammer throw final as the runaway favourite and he lived up to the pressure, locking up his first global title with a world U20 leading mark of 82.80m. It was a national U20 record and PB with the 6kg implement for the Cypriot, who upgraded his 2022 bronze medal from Cali.
Kesidis later explained how he was targeting the national U20 record on that final attempt.&nbsp;
&ldquo;This competition is my best,&rdquo; said the 19-year-old after winning the first ever gold medal for his nation at the World U20 Championships. &ldquo;I said to my coach before the goal, the last one I threw: &lsquo;It is the best one, let's go for the record.&rsquo; I love this sport.&rdquo;
In an indication of his dominance, Kesidis was more than seven metres clear of his closest competitor. He could have won gold with every throw he launched today.&nbsp;
Roland Imre of Hungary secured the silver medal, also with his final throw of the day, recording a PB mark of 75.33m. Imre was sitting in fifth going into the last round and met the moment to throw better than he ever has before exactly when it mattered most. It was a great night for the Hungarians as Imre&rsquo;s compatriot Armin Szabados made it to the podium as well, throwing 74.88m for bronze.
Ethan Olivier of New Zealand equalled his own area U20 record of 17.01m to become the men&rsquo;s triple jump champion. Olivier was the class of the field with four of his six jumps being good enough to secure him the gold medal.&nbsp;
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The moment was a long time in the making as Olivier placed fourth at the 2022 edition of the World U20 Championships in Cali.&nbsp;
It took lifetime best performances to make the podium, with Karson Gordon of the US getting silver on a PB 16.74m jump and Ma Yinglong of China taking the bronze with a PB 16.30m jump. Gordon&rsquo;s mark was a PB by more than half a metre and Ma came into the event just 10th on the descending order list of season&rsquo;s bests.&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s pole vault final was won by Molly Haywood of the US with a PB clearance of 4.47m. Haywood was strategic about her attempts and didn&rsquo;t enter the competition until the 4.15m bar. As just two other athletes cleared that height, her place on the podium was decided with a single jump.&nbsp;
Though Haywood was second at the US U20 Championships, she peaked at the right time to retain the global U20 pole vault title for her country after Hana Moll&rsquo;s gold medal in Cali in 2022.&nbsp;
Magdalena Rauter of Austria was second and Tryphena Hewett of Australia was third, both with clearances at 4.15m and medal colour decided on countback. Rauter and Hewett came into Lima just 12th and 11th, respectively, on the descending order list of season&rsquo;s bests but they both jumped close to their PBs of 4.20m to earn their podium positions.
Tom Tersek of Slovenia took the gold in the men&rsquo;s javelin with 76.81m from his last throw of the competition. Though he was the favourite on paper as the only athlete with a season&rsquo;s best over 80 metres, he was sitting in third place until his clutch final round attempt.&nbsp;
China&rsquo;s Wang Xiaobo, who was the only other entrant in the field with a PB over 80 metres, earned silver with a mark of 75.50m. Oisin Joyce of Ireland rose to the occasion on his very first throw, breaking his own national U20 record to pick up the bronze in 73.89m. It is Ireland&rsquo;s first ever throws medal at a World U20 Championships.
Beyond the field event finals, day one of the decathlon closed out with Czechia&rsquo;s Tomas Jarvinen scoring 4358 points, solidifying a significant lead of 211 points after the first half of competition. Jarvinen soared to a height of 2.12m in the high jump, which was nine centimetres ahead of the next closest competitor. Including the high jump, he won three of the five events on the first day, running 10.82 in the 100m and leaping 7.66m in the long jump.&nbsp;
Poland&rsquo;s Hubert Troscianka took one of the events Jarvinen did not win &ndash; the 400m. He led all competitors with his 47.24 performance, smashing his previous PB of 48.71. Troscianka will head into day two of the decathlon in second place with 4147 points. Sweden is in solid position for medal contention with Elias Kapell currently in third (4013 points) and Leo Goransson in fourth (3935 points).
Jessi Gabriel for World Athletics

The field events delivered fireworks on Thursday, the third day of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24

Kesidis claims historic hammer gold for Cyprus on day three in Lima

A pair of spectacular 400m finals and a championship record in the 3000m steeplechase proved the highlights on the track at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Thursday (29).
Sembo Almayew lived up to her favourite&rsquo;s billing in fine style to become the first ever Ethiopian world U20 women&rsquo;s steeplechase champion, the Paris Olympian surging clear of her chief rival Loice Chekwemoi of Uganda on the penultimate lap and coming home in 9:12.71. Adding a gold to her silver in this event from two years ago, she also took 0.07 off the championship record set by Celliphine Chespol in 2018. Chekwemoi clocked 9:18.84 in second with Kenya&rsquo;s Diana Chepkemoi taking bronze in 9:29.84.&nbsp;
In the women&rsquo;s 400m final, Czechia&rsquo;s Lurdes Gloria Manuel announced herself as a potential senior star of the future. She showed no lingering fatigue from her debut Olympics in Paris and produced a performance of poise, power and class, gliding clear of the field in the final 100m to hit the finish in 51.29, with Canada&rsquo;s Dianna Proctor flying home for silver in a PB of 51.98 and USA&rsquo;s Zaya Akins finishing third in 52.00.&nbsp;
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In the men&rsquo;s 400m, South Africa&rsquo;s Udeme Okon was also the athlete with all the answers in the decisive last 100 metres, powering away from US duo Jayden Davis and Sidi Njie and hitting the line in 45.69 to take a glorious gold, with Davis taking silver in 46.08 and Njie bronze in 46.29.
There was an upset in the men&rsquo;s 3000m as Norway&rsquo;s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen kicked to victory in 8:20.56, coming home ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Denis Kipkoech (8:20.79) and Britain&rsquo;s Edward Bird (8:21.00).
After a pedestrian first kilometre, the gears slowly began to shift midway through the race, and with just over a kilometre to run Kenya&rsquo;s Clinton Kimutai Ngetich launched a vicious surge. He was joined at the front by Kipkoech with a lap left but faded through the field on the back straight, with Kipkoech looking the likely winner at that point. But if he was the fly who had taken flight, then Halvorsen was the spider who was lying in wait, and the Norwegian pounced on the final bend and powered clear to a memorable gold.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I'm getting in the shape of my life now, these last days and weeks were great,&rdquo; said Halvorsen. &ldquo;I wanted to fight for the gold and that is exactly what I did. I'm grateful for everyone that helped me to do this and the ones that are going to help me get even further.&rdquo;
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In the women&rsquo;s 100m hurdles semifinals, Kerrica Hill of Jamaica turned up the heat on her rivals, the reigning champion blasting a 13.00 (0.1m/s) to advance to the final ahead of USA&rsquo;s Nonah Waldron (13.35). Long jump champion Delta Amidzovski of Australia continued her breakthrough week by winning the last semifinal in 13.48 (-1.5m/s), while Croatia&rsquo;s Mia Wild won the first semifinal in 13.24 (0.0m/s).&nbsp;
USA&rsquo;s Ja&rsquo;Kobe Tharp set a world U20 lead of 13.11 to blast into the men&rsquo;s 110m hurdles final, clocking 13.11 (-0.6m/s) to win his semifinal with ease ahead of Richard Hall of Jamaica (13.44). His biggest rival in the final will likely be US teammate Andre Korbmacher who turned in a crisp performance to win his semifinal in 13.25 (0.7m/s), while China&rsquo;s Chen Yuanjiang will also fancy his medal chances after taking a narrow victory in the other semifinal in 13.38.&nbsp;
Australia&rsquo;s Claudia Hollingsworth proved she will be tough to beat in the women&rsquo;s 800m final with a composed, classy performance to win her semifinal in 2:03.52, though Kenya&rsquo;s Sarah Moraa &ndash; the cousin of world champion Mary Moraa &ndash; was just as impressive when controlling the third semifinal to win in 2:03.44. Japan&rsquo;s Rin Kubo edged USA&rsquo;s Sophia Gorriaran to win the first semifinal, 2:03.00 to 2:03.01.&nbsp;
Australia also has a huge gold medal contender in the men&rsquo;s 800m in Peyton Craig, who timed his run to perfection to win the first semifinal in 1:47.31 ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Kelvin Kimutai Koech. Ethiopia&rsquo;s General Berhanu Ayansa won the second semifinal in 1:47.28 while Kenya&rsquo;s Phanuel Kipkosgei Koech won the last semifinal just ahead of Ko Ochiai of Japan (1:48.26).&nbsp;
Adaejah Hodge, the 100m silver medallist, showed she is a strong contender for 200m gold when blasting to victory in her semifinal in 23.18 (-0.6m/s), but the quickest qualifier was fellow Olympian Torrie Lewis of Australia, who clocked 23.14 (-0.6m/s) in the subsequent semifinal. Australia&rsquo;s Jessia Milat won the other semifinal in 23.42 (0.4m/s).&nbsp;
The good times kept rolling for Australia in the men&rsquo;s 200m semifinals, with recent viral sensation Gout Gout showing he is a big contender for gold, blasting to victory in 21.07 (-0.9m/s). Sweden&rsquo;s William Trulsson edged Britain&rsquo;s Jake Odey-Jordan to victory in the second semifinal, 21.30 to 21.40 (-1.2m/s), while 100m champion Bayanda Walaza of South Africa showed he is well on track for the sprint double in the last semifinal, easing up significantly and clocking 21.00 (0.3m/s) ahead of USA&rsquo;s Jaden Wiley (21.04).&nbsp;
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

A pair of spectacular 400m finals and a championship record in the 3000m steeplechase proved the highlights on the track in Lima on Thursday

Almayew sets steeplechase championship record to win world U20 title in Lima

The penultimate day of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Friday (30) is packed with finals, from the 10,000m race walk through to the 200m.
Here are three things to watch out for at the Estadio Atletico de la Videna. 
<h2>Sprint showdowns</h2>
After winning the 100m title on Wednesday (28), South Africa&rsquo;s Bayanda Walaza returns on the hunt for a sprint double.
The 18-year-old, who formed part of his nation&rsquo;s silver medal-winning 4x100m team at the Paris Olympics, cruised through the 200m heats and semifinals on Thursday (29), clocking 21.00 after easing up in the latter. But he&rsquo;s set to face some strong competition from Australia's 16-year-old Gout Gout, who won his heat in 20.77.
In the women&rsquo;s event, Gout&rsquo;s compatriot Torrie Lewis, who reached the Olympic semifinals in Paris, seeks her first global medal after leading the semifinals in 23.14. Adaejah Hodge of British Virgin Islands, who has already claimed 100m silver in Lima, won her semifinal in 23.18 and will be in the race for another medal.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/lima24/news/preview/wu20-lima-24-preview-sprints" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WU20 Lima 24 sprint events preview</a> 
<h2>Yan takes aim for javelin title</h2>
China&rsquo;s Yan Ziyi has the chance to add a global title to her world U20 record. At the age of just 15, Yan threw 64.28m in Hangzhou in April to improve both the ratified world U20 record of 63.86m set by Cuba&rsquo;s Yulenmis Aguilar in 2015 and the unratified 63.96m achieved by Elina Tzengko of Greece in 2020.
Now 16, Yan has also surpassed 62 metres in three other competitions this year and could threaten championship record of 63.52m set by Adriana Vilagos in Cali in 2022.
Another athlete with medal potential is Germany&rsquo;s Mirja Lukas, who threw 58.70m last month and topped qualification with 56.76m.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/lima24/news/preview/wu20-lima-24-preview-throws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WU20 Lima 24 throws events preview</a> 
<h2>Race walks in the morning spotlight</h2>
The 10,000m race walk events are the only two morning session finals in Lima and they will take centre stage on Friday morning.
In the men&rsquo;s event, Australia&rsquo;s Isaac Beacroft will want to add world U20 gold to the U20 10km title he claimed at the World Race Walking Team Championships in Antalya in April.
The 17-year-old has a track PB of 40:44.47 but clocked an Oceanian U20 record of 39:56 in Antalya. He&rsquo;s set to be challenged by Japan&rsquo;s Sohtaroh Osaka, who was fourth in Antalya but has a track PB of 39:54.42.
In the women&rsquo;s race, Spain&rsquo;s Aldara Meilan will want to go one better than her runner-up spot in Antalya. Her PB of 45:06.75 makes her the fastest entrant by 50 seconds, but she could have competition in China&rsquo;s Chen Meiling, who has a superior road PB of 43:57 but finished fifth in Antalya.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/lima24/news/preview/wu20-lima-24-preview-combined-events-race-walks" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WU20 Lima 24 combined events and race walks preview</a> 
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

The penultimate day of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Friday is packed with finals

Three things to watch on day four in Lima

A Croatian U20 long jump record of 8.15m by Roko Farkas proved the highlight on the third morning of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Thursday (29).
That added a whopping 43cm to the 19-year-old's PB and made him an immediate favourite for gold in Friday's final, topping the list in qualification ahead of South Africa's Temoso Masikane, the only other man to surpass the automatic qualification mark of 7.75m when jumping 7.87m.
Elsewhere, Jamaica's Kerrica Hill led the way in the heats of the 100m hurdles, the defending world U20 champion clocking a crisp 13.18 (0.4m/s) to advance with ease.
"It isn't a pressure being the world champion," she said. "I just have fun and get through the rounds properly. Now I want to rest, refocus and come again later."&nbsp;
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Australia's Delta Amidzovski made a swift turnaround from her long jump gold on Wednesday night to set a PB in her heat and take victory in 13.22. There were also wins for Mia Wild of Croatia (13.26), Jocelyn Loreta Echazabal of Cuba (13.36), Alina Kyshkina of Ukraine (13.37), Siiri Siirtola of Finland (13.43), Nonah Waldron of USA (13.55) and Luciana Zapata of Colombia (13.57).
USA's Ja&rsquo;Kobe Tharp underlined his status as favourite for the 110m hurdles title with a commanding victory in his heat, his time of 13.23 (-1.6m/s) the quickest of all competitors.
"For the next stage, I'm going to improve my time," he said. "As the rounds go on, I will start executing better and better, and then we will just see what the time says."
China's Chen Yuanjiang (13.37), USA's Andre Korbmacher (13.40) and Britain's Daniel Goriola (13.41&nbsp;) also underlined their medal credentials with wins. Richard Hall of Jamaica (13.58), Rasmus Vehmaa of Finland (13.60), Oumar Doudai Abakar of Qatar (13.46) and Britain's Noah Hanson (13.46) were the other heat winners. Cuba's Yander L. Herrera was very nearly a casualty, comfortably in front in his heat before smashing a barrier late in the race and finishing fourth, his 13.79 enough to secure him the final time qualifier spot in the semifinals.
In the women's hammer qualification, China&rsquo;s Zhang Jiale showed she remains the woman to beat, the 17-year-old leading the way into the final with a 65.73m effort in the second round. Next best was her chief rival for the world U20 title, Valentina Savva of Cyprus, who threw 65.61m. Nova Kienast of Germany was next best with a PB of 63.81m.
In the women's high jump qualification, favourite Angelina Topic of Serbia had no issues advancing, coasting over 1.77m, 1.80m and 1.83m at the first attempt and showing no signs of the injury sustained at the Paris Olympics. Reigning champion Karmen Bruus of Estonia also had a perfect card up to and including 1.83m to join her in the final.
After three events of the decathlon, Tomas Jarvinen of Czechia leads the way with 2576 points, the 18-year-old topping the standings in both the 100m (10.82) and long jump (7.66m) and throwing 13.54m in the shot put.&nbsp;
Hubert Troscianka of Poland sits second on 2505, his morning highlighted by a PB of 7.27m in the long jump, with Sweden&rsquo;s Elias Kapell third on 2492 and his compatriot Leo Goransson fourth on 2424.
In the heats of the women's 200m, Adaejah Hodge showed no signs of fatigue from her 100m exploits in recent days, the silver medallist underlining her potential for gold by leading the qualifiers in 23.19. Australia's Torrie Lewis also looked composed when clocking 23.27 to win her heat, while there were also heat wins for USA's Taylor Snaer (23.48), Jamaica's Shanoya Mikalia Douglas (23.51), Switzerland's Lia Thalmann (24.23) and Australia&rsquo;s Jessica Milat (23.29).
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The heats of the men's 200m saw Australia's Gout Gout, who recently went viral online, announce his gold medal credentials by powering to victory in 20.77 (-0.5m/s). USA's Jaden Wiley was also hugely impressive, winning his heat in 20.93, while on a morning that was as cool as the thin air over Machu Picchu, Sweden's William Trulsson was the only other heat winner to dip below 21 seconds with 20.99. Britain's Jake Odey-Jordan was also impressive when winning in 21.02, as was 100m champion Bayanda Walaza of South Africa who coasted to victory in 21.16.
All the big contenders advanced from the women's 3000m heats, with Kenya's Mercy Chepkemoi taking victory in the first heat in 9:22.72 and her teammate Marion Jepngetich taking the second heat in 8:52.25.
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

A Croatian U20 long jump record of 8.15m by Roko Farkas proved the highlight on the third morning of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24

Farkas flies to national U20 long jump record on third morning in Lima

The 100m finals closed out a thrilling second day at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Wednesday (28).
The women&rsquo;s 100m was expected to come down to a battle between Jamaica&rsquo;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.
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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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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.&nbsp;
"This is special, especially for my people from South Africa, this means a lot," said&nbsp;Walaza. "This is an extremely emotional moment for me. This was the best thing &ndash; I have never felt like this before. Okay, the Olympics. But this one, it&rsquo;s about me! It feels special."
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Walaza&rsquo;s compatriot and pre-event favourite Bradley Nkoana snagged the bronze in 10.26. The podium placings bode well for the South African men&rsquo;s 4x100m team in Lima, particularly as both Walaza and Nkoana formed part of their nation&rsquo;s silver medal-winning team at the Olympic Games in Paris.
It is not always the case, but the medals in the women&rsquo;s heptathlon came down to the final event &ndash; the 800m. Jana Koscak of Croatia knew she had to stay ahead of Switzerland&rsquo;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&rsquo;s best in the long jump, a PB in the javelin and a season&rsquo;s best in the 800m to cement her podium spot.
Czechia&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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.
&ldquo;My heart is moved. I didn't expect to get this far,&rdquo; said Han. &ldquo;I didn't imagine I could throw so far, so I'm really happy to be the champion here.&rdquo;
Huang Jingru earned silver (56.47m) to close out an impressive 1-2 podium finish for China. Australia&rsquo;s Marley Raikiwasa got the bronze with her fifth-round throw of 56.25m.
It was a good night for the Australians, as Raikiwasa&rsquo;s compatriot Delta Amidzovski soared to a PB of 6.58m to take the top podium spot in the women&rsquo;s long jump. It was a surprise win for Amidzovski, who came into the competition ranked 12th off season&rsquo;s best. She delivered when it counted, securing the gold with her fifth-round jump.&nbsp;
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&rsquo;s Julia Adamczyk, too, as she moved into the bronze medal position in that round with her 6.34m leap.
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Beyond the results in day two&rsquo;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&rsquo;s 400m to comfortably lead all qualifiers. Japan&rsquo;s Kentaro Shirahata won the second semifinal in a personal best of 46.30, and USA&rsquo;s Sidi Njie won the third semifinal (46.56) to improve the medal prospects for the US in the final.&nbsp;
Lurdes Gloria Manuel of Czechia showed why she was the pre-race favourite by cruising to the fastest overall time in the women&rsquo;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.&nbsp;
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&rsquo;s Dianna Proctor earned her second PB of the day with her 52.59 to win the second semifinal.
In the men&rsquo;s 1500m qualification, Australia&rsquo;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&rsquo;s best (3:32.37), finished right behind Pintado to easily qualify to the final.
In the women&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s final. Jan Krcek of Czechia led the qualifiers with the only flawless card of the competition.
Jessi Gabriel for World Athletics

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

Reid and Walaza win world U20 100m titles in Lima

Day three of the&nbsp;World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 offers another action-packed programme.
Here are three things to follow at the Estadio Atletico de la Videna on Thursday (29). 
<h2>Spectacular 400m showdowns</h2>
On a day that will showcase eight finals, along with the opening half of the decathlon, two of the most-anticipated races will be saved for last. The men&rsquo;s and women&rsquo;s 400m finals will announce to the world some potential senior stars of the one-lap event.&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s final looks an open contest and there could be very little between the medallists, with Paris Olympians Lurdes Gloria Manuel of Czechia quickest in the semifinals, winning in 51.91 from Nigeria&rsquo;s Ella Onojuvwevwo (51.99). USA&rsquo;s Zaya Akins was an impressive winner of the first semifinal in 52.11, with Elisa Valensin clocking an Italian U20 record of 52.23 in second. Canada&rsquo;s Dianna Proctor came through strongly to take victory in the other semifinal in a PB of 52.59.&nbsp;
The men&rsquo;s 400m looks set to be a duel between US pair Jayden Davis and Sidi Njie. Davis blasted to victory in the first semifinal in 45.79 while US U20 champion Njie clocked 46.56 to take the win in his semifinal after shutting down far from the finish. Japan&rsquo;s Kentaro Shirahata was an impressive winner of the other semifinal in 46.30 and will have his eyes on a medal.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/lima24/news/preview/wu20-lima-24-preview-sprints" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WU20 Lima 24 sprint events preview</a>
<h2>80-metre men clash in javelin final</h2>
There&rsquo;s no shortage of action in the field on Wednesday and the men&rsquo;s javelin could prove the pick of it, pitting Slovenia&rsquo;s Tom Tersek against China&rsquo;s Wang Xiaobo. They coasted through qualification with Wang throwing 73.83m and Tersek 73.37m. Tersek set a Slovenian U20 record of 80.87m in June and backed it up with 79.44m to win the national U20 title. Xiaobo set his own national U20 record of 80.61m last year and this year his best is the 76.84m to finish third at the Chinese Championships.&nbsp;
Germany&rsquo;s Oskar Janicke broke new ground in qualification, throwing a PB of 73.02m, and could well be in the shake-up along with Ukraine&rsquo;s Illia Saievskyi, who threw a 75.80m PB in May.&nbsp;
The men&rsquo;s hammer final will see Iosef Kesidis of Cyprus looking to upgrade the bronze medal he won in Cali two years ago and having thrown 78.53m in qualification, it will come as no surprise if he breaks his national U20 record of 81.07m.
The women&rsquo;s pole vault final could be dominated by US pair Hannah Grace and Molly Haywood, who both cleared 4.40m at their national U20 Championships, while the men&rsquo;s triple jump is likely to centre on New Zealand&rsquo;s Ethan Olivier, a Paris Olympian who has jumped 17.01m, more than half a metre beyond his rivals.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/lima24/news/preview/wu20-lima-24-preview-throws" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WU20 Lima 24 throws events preview</a>
<h2>Distance superpowers set to square off</h2>
There will be two middle-distance finals on the track &ndash; the women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase and men&rsquo;s 3000m &ndash; and it will be a massive shock if the titles head anywhere other than Kenya or Ethiopia.&nbsp;
Ethiopia has claimed the last two men&rsquo;s 3000m titles but Kenya won the five before that, and the Kenyan duo of Clinton Kimutai Ngetich and Denis Kipkoech should prove tough to beat here, with respective bests of 7:48.09 and 7:48.48. Ethiopia&rsquo;s Ybeltal Gashahun and Abrha Gebru finished 1-2 at their national U20 trials and should put up a strong showing, while Norway&rsquo;s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen and Dutch athlete Juan Zijderlaan have both run 7:51.&nbsp;
The women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase title has been won by Kenya on nine of 10 occasions, the only exception being in 2014 when Kenyan-born Ruth Jebet won for Bahrain. But this should be the year when Ethiopia, a growing force in the event, finally gets its gold.&nbsp;
Sembo Almayew comes in as by far the fastest athlete with a season&rsquo;s best of 9:00.83 and she&rsquo;s looking to improve on the silver she won in Cali two years ago. She looks primed to do so after coasting to victory in her heat in 9:30.59. Uganda&rsquo;s Loice Chekwemoi is the second quickest of the finalists via her PB of 9:24.47.
<a href="https://worldathletics.org/competitions/world-athletics-u20-championships/lima24/news/preview/wu20-lima-24-preview-distance" target="_blank" rel="noopener">WU20 Lima 24 distance events preview</a> 
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

Day three of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 offers another action-packed programme

Three things to follow on day three in Lima

The second morning of action at the&nbsp;World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 on Wednesday (28) saw a riveting duel take shape in the heptathlon, with Croatia&rsquo;s Jana Koscak and Switzerland&rsquo;s Lucia Acklin set to battle it out for gold in tonight&rsquo;s 800m.&nbsp;
After six events, Koscak has the lead on 5044 points, 40 points clear of Acklin, with Australia&rsquo;s Mia Scerri third on 4771. Koscak has the better 800m form but not by much, with a best of 2:19.14, while Acklin has run 2:20.84, which equates to a difference of 23 points. Acklin will likely need the run of her life to take gold and will have to come home close to three seconds in front of Koscak to take victory.&nbsp;
The battle for bronze should also be hard-fought. Scerri has run a hand-timed 2:16.4 for 800m while Adela Tkacova of Czechia, who is 38 points behind her on 4733, has run 2:18.00.&nbsp;
Day two began in fine fashion for Koscak, who had a best of 5.97m in the long jump to extend her advantage over Acklin to 85 points, the Swiss athlete jumping 5.90m. But Acklin struck back in the javelin, launching a PB of 42.36m compared to Koscak&rsquo;s 40.06m. If she runs to form in the concluding 800m, then Koscak, the 2022 European U18 champion, looks poised to add the world U20 title.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, in the heats of the women&rsquo;s 400m hurdles, Michelle Smith of the Virgin Islands was highly impressive, the teenager who finished fifth at the last edition in Cali looking very much a medallist in waiting here. She clocked 57.85 appearing to have lots left in the tank, with Candice von Plauen of France following her home in a PB of 58.00.&nbsp;
France&rsquo;s Meta Tumba was also a dominant winner of her heat, clocking a controlled 58.05, with South Africa&rsquo;s Tumi Ramokgopa winning her heat in 58.04. The other winners were Finland&rsquo;s Mila Heikkonen (58.68) Australia&rsquo;s Alesha Bennetts (59.04) and Poland&rsquo;s Wiktoria Gadajska (58.62).
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Finland&rsquo;s Antti Sainio led the qualifiers from the men&rsquo;s 400m hurdles heats, clocking 51.19 to coast to victory ahead of USA&rsquo;s Premier Wynn (51.89). Japanese duo Kairi Gonda and Kyo Kikuta were also highly impressive winning their respective heats in 51.21 and 51.24. South Africa&rsquo;s Njabulo Mbatha, who tops the entry lists via his 49.57 from April, also coasted to victory, clocking 51.42, with Vance Nilsson of USA (51.98), Daniel Wright of Jamaica (51.42) and Michal Rada of Czechia (52.26) also taking wins.&nbsp;
Nigeria&rsquo;s Ella Onojuvwevwo was quickest in the women&rsquo;s 400m heats, the Olympic semifinalist looking comfortable when coasting to the line in 52.19 ahead of Colombia&rsquo;s Paolo Loboa, who set a PB of 52.81. Lurdes Gloria Manuel of Czechia, who like Onojuvwevwo was also an Olympic semifinalist in Paris, was edged to victory in her heat, clocking 52.76 behind Canada&rsquo;s Dianna Proctor (52.73).&nbsp;
USA&rsquo;s Michaela Mouton, one of just three women in the field to have broken 51 seconds, clocked 52.69 to win her heat, while there were also wins for Britain&rsquo;s Charlotte Henrich (53.07), Italy&rsquo;s Elisa Valensin (53.82) and USA&rsquo;s Zaya Akins (52.69).
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In the men&rsquo;s 400m heats, Jayden Davis of USA led the qualifiers, taking victory in 46.32, while South Africa&rsquo;s Udeme Okon looked the most relaxed heat winner of all, clocking 47.03. There were also wins for Japan&rsquo;s Kentaro Shirahata (46.45), Poland&rsquo;s Jakub Szarapo (46.95), Australia&rsquo;s Terrell Thorne (46.44), USA&rsquo;s Sidi Njie (46.83) and Botswana&rsquo;s Ernest Kumevu (46.69).
Just two athletes hit the automatic mark of 53.00m in the women&rsquo;s javelin qualification, with Germany&rsquo;s Mirja Lukas launching 56.76m on her second attempt and China&rsquo;s Yan Ziyi, the world U20 record-holder, throwing 55.67m on her first try. Croatia&rsquo;s Vita Barbic threw 52.54m and Switzerland&rsquo;s Sabrina Boss 52.30m, while Britain&rsquo;s Ayesha Jones managed a PB of 51.78m to move on to the final. Asian U20 champion Chu Pin-Hsun of Chinese Taipei also advanced with her third-round effort of 50.75m.
In the men&rsquo;s high jump qualification, USA&rsquo;s Scottie Vines and Japan&rsquo;s Kaisei Nakatani &ndash; who top the entries with their bests of 2.24m &ndash; both had no issues advancing, clearing 2.12m to ensure their place in the final, the automatic mark of 2.17m not needed for the 12 qualifiers. China&rsquo;s Dong Ziang, USA&rsquo;s Tito Alofe and Italy&rsquo;s Matteo Sioli &ndash; who are all potential medallists &ndash; had no issues advancing.&nbsp;
Reigning world U20 champion Sharifa Davronova of Uzbekistan advanced to the women&rsquo;s triple jump final but fell just shy of the automatic qualifying mark of 13.30m, the 17-year-old knowing she had done enough after a 13.24m effort in the second round.&nbsp;
China&rsquo;s Li Yi, who topped the entry lists with her 13.99m in May, was the only jumper to achieve the big Q when opening with a 13.38m jump. Italy&rsquo;s Erika Giorgia Anoeta Saraceni also impressed with a 13.29m jump, while Canada&rsquo;s Asia Phillips (13.20m) and France&rsquo;s Clemence Rougier (13.10m) also coasted into the final. The biggest casualty was Khushnoza Shavkatova, the two-time Asian U20 champion, who fell just 3cm shy of qualifying with her best of 12.79m.
The men&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase heats saw two victories for Kenya, with Matthew Kosgei coasting to victory in the first heat in 8:24.64 and Edmund Serem taking the second heat in 8:46.56.&nbsp;
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

The second morning of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 saw a riveting duel take shape in the heptathlon, with Croatia’s Jana Koscak and Switzerland’s Lucia Acklin set to battle it out for gold

Koscak and Acklin set for heptathlon title battle, with one event to go in Lima

He might already be an Olympic medallist, but Bradley Nkoana has no doubt as to the importance of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 as a key step in his career.
The men&rsquo;s 100m final on Wednesday (28) will feature two Olympic medallists, as Nkoana lines up alongside his South African 4x100m teammate Bayanda Walaza, plus their fellow Olympian Puripol Boonson of Thailand.
In Paris earlier this month, Nkoana and Walaza teamed up with Akani Simbine and Shaun Maswanganyi to set an African record of 37.57 to secure 4x100m silver &ndash; the nation&rsquo;s first ever Olympic medal in the event.
Now Nkoana and Walaza are on the hunt for age group honours, contesting the 100m final on Wednesday evening before returning to relay duty on Friday and, should all go to plan, on Saturday to race for further 4x100m medal success.
&ldquo;Being here is a blessing and I feel like being at this competition is a milestone towards my career,&rdquo; says Nkoana. &ldquo;I was also in the 2022 edition (of the World U20 Championships), but unfortunately I didn&rsquo;t get to run, I had an injury. But I had my coach there to tell me that there&rsquo;s still a next one, so just prepare yourself, anything can happen. Being here at this championship, I&rsquo;m really grateful for it. I&rsquo;m looking to bring my A-game.&rdquo;
The 19-year-old starts as the quickest in the 100m field, thanks to the national U20 record of 10.03 he set in La Chaux-de-Fonds last month, but just five thousandths of a second separates the five fastest in the field when it comes to PBs.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;m just preparing myself to show my best out there and compete with the guys,&rdquo; Nkoana adds. &ldquo;There are a lot of competitors here that are really strong and hopefully we give them a show.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66cf57f3df54f5b53f834969.JPG" alt="Bradley Nkoana at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima" />
Bradley Nkoana at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima (&copy; Oscar Munoz Badilla)
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It was while playing with his friends as a child that Nkoana first noticed his speed.
&ldquo;I remember when I was in grade four, I asked my coach if I could race with the senior guys and I actually won,&rdquo; he reflects. &ldquo;Since then, I thought: &lsquo;Bradley, this is where you belong&rsquo;.&rdquo;
While he initially saw himself as a football player, it was his grandmother who encouraged Nkoana into athletics and she is the person the rising sprinter names as his inspiration. &ldquo;My grandma really put me in line, saying: &lsquo;Bradley, you are an athlete &ndash; this is you. If you don&rsquo;t see it now, you&rsquo;ll see it later'," says Nkoana, whose&nbsp;mother used to do high jump and whose father played basketball. "I feel like that&rsquo;s how my journey began.&rdquo;
He met his current coach, Paul Gorries, while training in Pretoria and they now work together out of Potchefstroom, where his training group includes Benjamin Richardson, who claimed world U20 100m silver in 2021 and bronze in 2022.
&ldquo;My coach not only nurtured my talent, but he prepared me for the world mentally, all those other things,&rdquo; Nkoana says. &ldquo;The times he was hard on me, I never understood why, but as time goes on you understand that he&rsquo;s hard on you because he sees something in you and you also have to dig deep to realise that I&rsquo;m actually someone in this world. Him being in my life played a huge a role. He is the reason why I am here today.&rdquo;
And Gorries can certainly speak from experience, as he won the world U20 200m title in Santiago de Chile in 2000 before a senior career that featured Commonwealth Games and African Championships medals.
&ldquo;He is young, he is ambitious. He gets ahead of himself a little bit! So, it&rsquo;s my job to just tone it down,&rdquo; says Gorries. &ldquo;But you know, at that age, when you are doing so well, I can relate.
&ldquo;I have been in the sport for a long while so it&rsquo;s my job, not just the coaching part, but to help them find a balance. The past two seasons it has been good, but like I always remind them, this is just the beginning, and if you don&rsquo;t get things right now you might pay for it later on in your career.&rdquo;
For Gorries, things have come full circle. &ldquo;It is quite a journey, coaching now &ndash; I sometimes call it payback for the hard times I gave my coach, when they give it to me!&rdquo; he laughs. &ldquo;But it has been a good journey so far and hopefully this is the start of bigger and better things to come.&rdquo;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66cf58a4df54f5b53f83496c.jpg" alt="Akani Simbine, Bradley Nkoana, Shaun Maswanganyi and Bayanda Walaza receive their Olympic medals in Paris" />
Akani Simbine, Bradley Nkoana, Shaun Maswanganyi and Bayanda Walaza receive their Olympic medals in Paris (&copy; Mattia Ozbot)
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The next step is Lima, where Nkoana will use the great experience he gained in being guided by Gorries to that Olympic 4x100m medal. While there is much to reflect on, one moment really stands out to the teenager.
&ldquo;The look on Akani&rsquo;s face when he realised that we actually brought a medal back for South Africa,&rdquo; Nkoana says. &ldquo;We know how much it means to him, to the team, to the country. We always knew that we had the guys to do it, but we just never had the resources or funds to put the team into a position where they could actually medal. Once this year they made a final decision that we&rsquo;ll make camps and all of that, I feel like being out there with the guys and bonding is what I will cherish the most.&rdquo;
That silver medal must now be one of Nkoana's&nbsp;most prized possessions, so did he bring it with him to Lima?
&ldquo;My agent told me not to bring it,&rdquo; he smiles. &ldquo;But every third day I ask my dad to take a picture!
&ldquo;Being in Paris was just a good experience,&rdquo; he adds. &ldquo;I was able to handle myself well and coming into this championship, I feel like I am more ready, I am more focused, and I have high expectations of myself. My teammate Benjamin Richardson has set a high standard in our group and I am looking forward to also putting that high standard out as well.&rdquo;
So Richardson has helped to inspire Nkoana, who in turn will surely be inspiring the next generation.
Speaking to the world&rsquo;s press in Lima on the eve of the championships,&nbsp;Nkoana&nbsp;was asked by a member of the World Athletics Media Development Programme for the advice he would share with younger athletes who also have Olympic medal ambitions.
&ldquo;Don&rsquo;t limit yourself,&rdquo; he replied. &ldquo;Even if you feel like you are the youngest, to the world you are someone and you have value. So don&rsquo;t limit yourself and anything is possible. Just run your heart out and have fun. That&rsquo;s always important &ndash; just have fun.&rdquo;
Jess Whittington for World Athletics

He might already be an Olympic medallist, but Bradley Nkoana has no doubt as to the importance of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 as a key step in his career

No limits for Nkoana, back on global track in Lima after Olympic silver

On a cool, crisp evening in the Peruvian capital on Tuesday (27), Ethiopia&rsquo;s Medina Eisa turned up the heat on her rivals to successfully defend her 5000m title, the highlight of the first day of action at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24.&nbsp;
Eisa&rsquo;s winning time of 14:39.71 carved more than 28 seconds off the championship record set by Genzebe Dibaba, which had stood since 2010, and brought her home well clear of her compatriot Mekedes Alemeshete. The two broke away from the field from the outset and alternated pace-setting duties, passing 2000m in 5:58.59 with a 40-metre lead.&nbsp;
By 3000m, reached in 8:57.28, they&rsquo;d built a 70-metre lead and from there it only extended, with Eisa breaking clear of her compatriot with three and a half laps to run and lapping most of the field to hand women&rsquo;s 5000m gold to Ethiopia for the eighth time in the last nine editions.
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&ldquo;I'm very happy with this win and to achieve a championship record after the Olympics,&rdquo; said Eisa, who finished seventh in the 5000m in Paris. &ldquo;I wanted to be a champion, I have wanted this for months.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Alemeshete followed her home in 14:57.44, with Uganda&rsquo;s Charity Cherop getting bronze in a PB of 15:25.02.&nbsp;
The men&rsquo;s 5000m proved a very different race, with some early moves proving inconsequential and the final boiling down to a sprint finish, with seven clustered together at the bell. As the contenders hit full speed on the final turn it was Kenya&rsquo;s Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi who soon took flight like a bird, soaring to victory in 13:41.14 ahead of Ethiopia&rsquo;s Abdisa Fayisa (13:41.56) and Uganda&rsquo;s Keneth Kiprop (13:41.73).&nbsp;
Australia reigned supreme in the mixed 4x400m final, their quartet of Jordan Gilbert, Bella Pasquali, Jack Deguara and Sophia Gregorevic controlling the race and hitting the line comfortably in front in an Oceanian record of 3:19.27. Poland claimed silver in 3:20.44 with China coming through strongly for bronze in 3:21.27 courtesy of a big final leg from Liu Yinglan.&nbsp;
<div><img style="max-width: 900px; width: 100%; display: block;" src="https://assets.aws.worldathletics.org/66ce7870344df64dfdfbd9e8.JPG" alt="Australia on the way to mixed 4x400m victory at the World U20 Championships in Lima" />
Australia on the way to mixed 4x400m victory at the World U20 Championships in Lima (&copy; Enzo Santos Barreiro)
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In the men&rsquo;s shot put, it was no surprise to see gold go to the Netherlands for the first time in 24 years, but it wasn&rsquo;t the thrower many were expecting, with Dutch U20 record-holder Yannick Rolvink &ndash; who topped the entry lists by more than a metre &ndash; finishing fifth with 19.88m.
It was his teammate, Jarno van Daalen, who shone brightest, the 18-year-old adding 36cm to his lifetime best with his opening round effort of 20.76m. That was a mark no one else could match in the subsequent rounds, though South Africa&rsquo;s JL van Rensburg came close, launching a PB of 20.74m in the final round for silver. Germany&rsquo;s Georg Harpf took bronze with 20.28m.&nbsp; &nbsp;
With four events completed in the heptathlon, Croatia&rsquo;s Jana Koscak tops the standings with 3536 points, the 2022 European U18 champion adding to her 13.80 hurdles performance and 1.81m high jump earlier in the day with a 12.01m shot put and 25.12 200m in the afternoon session.&nbsp;
Second overnight is Switzerland&rsquo;s Lucia Acklin, who rocketed up the standings during the latter part of the day after throwing 13.42m in the shot put and clocking a PB of 24.42 in the 200m. That leaves her on 3472 points. Australia&rsquo;s Mia Scerri sits third with 3385, closely followed by Czechia&rsquo;s Adela Tkacova who is fourth with 3351, aided by her season&rsquo;s best of 24.14 in the 200m.
"It's been a long day, but I'm happy," said Koscak. "I ran a solid 200m, a good high jump, but the hurdles and shot put could have been a little better. It's been a long process because I've been travelling a lot, with climate changes, times zones. This is the World Championships so I'm not going to complain."
In the women&rsquo;s 100m semifinals, Jamaica&rsquo;s Alana Reid was highly impressive when winning in 11.44 (-0.3m/s), easing off the gas far from the line to beat Nigeria&rsquo;s Justina Tiana Eyakpobeyan (11.56) and Aleksandra Stoilova of Australia (11.58), who also advanced. Kishawna Niles of Barbados and Britain&rsquo;s Nia Wedderburn-Goodison were the quickest qualifiers, both clocking 11.39 in the first semifinal ahead of South Africa&rsquo;s Viwe Jingqi (11.49). Germany&rsquo;s Chelsea Kadiri won the third semifinal in 11.52 ahead of Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands (11.59).&nbsp;
Thailand&rsquo;s Puripol Bonsoon, who finished fourth in this event two years ago, was the quickest qualifier for the men&rsquo;s 100m final, clocking 10.30 (-0.6m/s) in the semifinals to edge South Africa&rsquo;s Bradley Nkoana by one thousandth of a second. Jamaica&rsquo;s Gary Card qualified in third with 10.39.&nbsp;
Deandre Daley of Jamaica powered to victory in the first semifinal in 10.34 (-0.9m/s) with Japan&rsquo;s Naoki Nishioka taking the second automatic spot in 10.43. South Africa&rsquo;s Bayanda Walaza recovered from an early stumble to win the third semifinal in 10.33 (-0.2m/s) ahead of Britain&rsquo;s Teddy Wilson (10.35) and China&rsquo;s He Jinxian (10.36), who also advanced.&nbsp;
China&rsquo;s Wang Xiaobo led the way in men&rsquo;s javelin qualification, launching 73.83m with Slovenia&rsquo;s Tom Tersek next best with 73.37m ahead of Germany&rsquo;s Oskar Janicke (73.02m). Ukraine&rsquo;s Illia Saievskyi was the only other thrower to surpass the 72.50m automatic qualification mark.&nbsp;
In women's pole vault qualification, the automatic qualifying mark of 4.25m wasn't necessary and four athletes cleared 4.10m with faultless performances. One vault was all it took for USA's Molly Haywood to make the final as she entered at 4.10m and cleared that first time. She'll be joined by athletes including Estonia's Miia Tillmann, Australia's Tryphena Hewett and Austria's Magdalena Rauter.
The women&rsquo;s 3000m steeplechase heats saw a dominant performance from race favourite Sembo Almayew who coasted to victory in 9:30.59 ahead of Kenya&rsquo;s Diana Chepkemoi and Uganda&rsquo;s Nancy Chepkwurui (9:49.06). Ethiopia&rsquo;s Firehiwot Gesese eased to victory in the other heat in 10:00.96 ahead of Uganda&rsquo;s Loice Chekwemoi (10:01.85) and Kenya&rsquo;s Sharon Chepkemoi (10:07.59).&nbsp;
Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics

On a cool, crisp evening in the Peruvian capital, Medina Eisa turned up the heat on her rivals to successfully defend her 5000m title

Athletics future shaped at World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24

Fayisa flies to 1500m gold for Ethiopia on day five in Lima

Reid anchors Jamaica to 4x100m title to secure golden double in Lima

Rising sprinter Manuel crowns season with world U20 title

Three things to follow on the fifth and final day in Lima