Three things to follow on day three in Lima

Day three of the 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).

Spectacular 400m showdowns

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’s and women’s 400m finals will announce to the world some potential senior stars of the one-lap event. 

The women’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’s Ella Onojuvwevwo (51.99). USA’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’s Dianna Proctor came through strongly to take victory in the other semifinal in a PB of 52.59. 

The men’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’s Kentaro Shirahata was an impressive winner of the other semifinal in 46.30 and will have his eyes on a medal.

WU20 Lima 24 sprint events preview

80-metre men clash in javelin final

There’s no shortage of action in the field on Wednesday and the men’s javelin could prove the pick of it, pitting Slovenia’s Tom Tersek against China’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. 

Germany’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’s Illia Saievskyi, who threw a 75.80m PB in May. 

The men’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’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’s triple jump is likely to centre on New Zealand’s Ethan Olivier, a Paris Olympian who has jumped 17.01m, more than half a metre beyond his rivals.

WU20 Lima 24 throws events preview

Distance superpowers set to square off

There will be two middle-distance finals on the track – the women’s 3000m steeplechase and men’s 3000m – and it will be a massive shock if the titles head anywhere other than Kenya or Ethiopia. 

Ethiopia has claimed the last two men’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’s Ybeltal Gashahun and Abrha Gebru finished 1-2 at their national U20 trials and should put up a strong showing, while Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen and Dutch athlete Juan Zijderlaan have both run 7:51. 

The women’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. 

Sembo Almayew comes in as by far the fastest athlete with a season’s best of 9:00.83 and she’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’s Loice Chekwemoi is the second quickest of the finalists via her PB of 9:24.47.

WU20 Lima 24 distance events preview

Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics