WU20 Lima 24 preview: distance

The World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 24 will take place between 27-31 August, with more than 1700 athletes from 134 teams set to take part.

Here we take a look at the distance events at the Estadio Atletico de la Videna.

 

Women’s 800m

Kenya’s Sarah Moraa will look to follow in the footsteps of her cousin, Mary, by claiming a global 800m title. Mary Moraa finished fifth at these championships back in 2018 and went on to win the world 800m title at senior level in 2023 and she’s been a mentor for her 18-year-old cousin, Sarah, who finished third at the Kenyan Olympic Trials in June, lowering her PB to 1:59.39.

Moraa is the second quickest in the field on personal bests, the entries headed by Australia’s Claudia Hollingsworth, who broke the national U20 800m record to win the Australian senior title in April with 1:58.40 before going on to the Paris Olympics where she reached the 800m semi-finals.

Sophia Gorriaran is another who is likely to be in the medal hunt, the US 19-year-old equalling her PB in May with 2:00.65 and she finished seventh in the semi-final of the US Olympic Trials in June.

Japan’s Rin Kubo is one of the country’s most exciting young prospects, having clocked 1:59.93 in Nara last month at the age of just 16 and she could well announce herself on the international stage by snatching a medal here. Norway’s Malin Hoelsveen, Germany’s Jana Marie Becker and Italy’s Ngalula Gloria Kabangu should also be strong contenders.

 

Men’s 800m

Australia’s Peyton Craig tops the world U20 lists for 2024 via the Oceanian record of 1:44.12 he ran in Vienna in June, the 19-year-old Queensland athlete going on to compete in the Olympics in Paris. He competed over 1500m at the last edition of these championships in 2022.

Czechia’s Jakub Dudycha is the European U20 champion and the 18-year-old broke the Czech senior record in June with his 1:44.82 and made his Olympic debut in Paris over 800m.

Japan’s Ko Ochiai is the Asian U20 champion and broke the national U20 record in Niigata in June with 1:45.82, which he lowered again to 1:44.80 in late July. Ethiopia’s General Berhanu Ayansa has a best of 1:45.45 and is sure to be in the medal hunt while Qatar’s Hatim Ait Oulghazi, Kenya’s Kelvin Kimutai Koech and USA’s Daniel Watcke are among those to have run under 1:47 and should also feature.

 

Women’s 1500m

Ethiopia’s Saron Berhe is the clear favourite for this title with a personal best eight seconds quicker than her nearest rival on the entry lists. The 17-year-old won the African title in June and dipped under four minutes for the first time in April at the Wanda Diamond League meeting in Xiamen, China, clocking 3:59.21. She will be joined by compatriot Tsige Teshome, who won silver at the Ethiopian U20 Championships last month.

Germany’s Jolanda Kallabis has made giant strides this year, lowering her PB to 4:07.55 in May, while Britain’s Ava Lloyd (4:12.07), Norway’s Malin Hoelsveen (4:12.17) and Denmark’s Sofia Thogersen (4:12.95) are the others on the entry list to have run below 4:15.

 

Men’s 1500m

Australia’s rising star Cameron Myers has enjoyed another strong season and the 18-year-old looks capable of crowning it in Lima with a world U20 title. He missed out on qualification for the Paris Olympics after finishing fifth at their national championships in Adelaide and then clocked a 3:50.15 mile at the Eugene Diamond League to break the national U20 record.

But to win in Lima, he will have to defeat Ethiopia’s Abdisa Fayisa, who tops the entries via the 3:32.37 he ran to win the Ethiopian Olympic Trials in Nerja, Spain in June. Fayisa then competed at the Paris Olympics, finishing 14th in his 1500m heat and 10th in the repechage.

Norway has significant strength at senior level in this event and the same is true in the U20 category, with Hakon Moeberg and Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen both capable of contending for a medal, having run 3:37.25 and 3:38.32 this year. Kenya’s Josphat Kipkirui and Ethiopia’s Sendel Musa have both run below 3:40 already, as has Britain’s George Couttie.

 

Women’s 3000m

You have to go back to 2016 to find the last Ethiopian winner of this title but it will come as a surprise if the distance-running superpower doesn’t reclaim the crown this year, with Aleshign Baweke and Marta Alemayo topping the entry lists, having run 8:41.10 and 8:45.40 respectively this year. Both of those times were run at altitude in Hawassa to lead the way at the Ethiopian U20 Championships, with Alemayo proving her strength in Liege, Belgium in June by clocking 14:39.61 for 5000m.

There are three other women on the entries who have run below nine minutes: Sofia Thogersen of Denmark, Amy Bunnage of Australia and Innes Fitzgerald of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Thogersen won silver over 1500m and 5000m at the European U20 Championships last year and ran her 3000m PB of 8:50.26 indoors in Metz, France in February.

 

Men’s 3000m

Kenyan duo Clinton Kimutai Ngetich and Denis Kipkoech should prove tough to beat in this. Australia’s Cameron Myers tops the entry list with his PB of 7:46.38 but he’s expected to focus solely on the 1500m in Lima, with Ngetich (7:48.09) and Kipkoech (7:48.48) the next quickest.

Ethiopia’s Ybeltal Gashahun and Abrha Gebru finished 1-2 at their national U20 Trials, clocking 7:58.70 and 7:59.00 in the thin air of Hawassa, and while both of those were personal bests, it’s likely that both are capable of significantly faster at sea level.

Norway’s Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen and Juan Zijderlaan of the Netherlands have both run 7:51 and should also be in contention for a top-five finish, along with Britain’s Henry Dover who has a best of 7:57.47.

 

Women’s 5000m

Ethiopia looks to have the strongest hand in this event courtesy of the only two athletes to have run below 15 minutes in the field: Medina Eisa and Mekedes Alemeshete.

Eisa will start as favourite to defend her title, having clocked 14:16.54 – the fastest time ever by an U20 athlete – in London last year. She finished seventh in the 5000m at the recent Paris Olympics and took an impressive win over 5000m at the Marrakech Diamond League in May. Alemeshete should prove the biggest threat, having run 14:36.70 to win at the Suzhou Diamond League in April.

Australia’s Amy Bunnage has a best of 15:11.68, which she ran indoors in Seattle in February, and the Stanford University student will fancy her chances of contending if she produces her best. Kenya’s Sheila Jebet clocked her PB of 15:20.48 in Italy in May and should also be in contention, along with her teammate Mercy Chepkemoi, Britain’s Innes Fitzgerald and Japanese duo Kana Mizumoto and Yuumi Yamamoto.

 

Men’s 5000m

Kenya’s Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi tops the entries via the 13:05.55 he ran in Italy in early June, but he was beaten into second at the Kenyan U20 Trials a few weeks after that by 2023 world U20 cross-country champion Ishmail Rokitto Kipkurui, who clocked 13:05.47 last year and finished a fine 10th in the world 5000m final in Budapest. They look the two athletes to beat.

Burundi’s Emilie Hafashimana has enjoyed a strong season and he lowered the national U20 record to 13:15.24 in France in July and clocked a national U20 record of 27.47.88 for 10,000m in London in May.

Ethiopian pair Nibret Kinde and Sewmehon Anteneh should also be in the shake-up, while Uganda’s Samuel Simba Cherop, Burundi’s Desire Niyomwungere and Tanzania’s John Nahhay Wele are also among the potential medallists.

Cathal Dennehy for World Athletics