Jamaica had their best day yet here in Donetsk at the IAAF World Youth Championships, taking gold in the boys’ 110m Hurdles and the 400m, while Ethiopia’s Marese Kahsay set a World youth best in the 2000m Steeplechase on the third day of action.At last year’s World Junior Championships, Kahsay finished a distant seventh in the 3000m Steeplechase. He got closer to gold at this year’s African Youth Championships, missing out by just 0.02. But the Ethiopian won the title that mattered, taking gold in the 2000m Steeplechase in Donetsk ahead of the Kenyan favourites.Nicholas Bett and Justus Lagat of Kenya led from early on, passing halfway in 5:39.90. Kahsay was close behind them for much of the way, then moved into second place before the bell. Lagat began to fade slightly, but Bett kicked hard for home.Coming off the final barrier, Kahsay moved into his top gear and edged ahead to take gold in 5:19.99. Bett finished second in 5:20.92 to also dip inside the previous World youth best that had stood to Morocco’s Ouhaddi Nabil since 2006.Lagat held on for third place in 5:30.00 as the top six finishers all set lifetime bests.Hyde sets championship record to win 110m Hurdles goldJust 24 hours after team-mate Yanique Thompson won gold in the girls’ sprint hurdles, Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde made it double joy for the Caribbean nation by triumphing in the 110m Hurdles final.He had looked a gold-medal prospect in the semifinals, where he sped to victory in a PB of 13.22. But he went even quicker in the final, clocking a national youth best and championship record of 13.13 to take gold, just 0.01 outside the World youth best.USA’s Marlon Humphrey also set a PB to take silver in 13.24 with China’s Lu Yang finishing third, also setting a PB with 13.33. Cuba’s Roger Iribarne, the top-ranked athlete heading into Donetsk, finished outside the medals in fourth with 13.46.US favourites overtaken in 400m finalsRyan Clark and Olivia Baker led the 2013 world youth lists heading into tonight’s 400m finals, but the US pair were caught in the home-straight in almost identical races.Clark held a three-metre lead coming off the final bend, but Jamaica’s Martin Manley was in the adjacent lane and cruised past him with 70 metres to go. Manley forged ahead and crossed the line in 45.89, the second-fastest time by a Jamaican youth after Usain Bolt.Clark tied up slightly, but held on for second place in 46.46. Kenya’s Alexander Sampao took bronze with a PB of 46.78 with team-mate Ian Mutuku in fourth, 47.02.Baker, meanwhile, similarly led as she entered the home straight. But once again it was the athlete in the lane to her right, Britain’s Sabrina Bakare, who overtook the US sprinter.Bakare crossed the line in 52.77, smashing the PB she had set in the semifinal. She is Britain’s first ever World youth champion in the 400m, but she maintains her country’s streak of World youth champions in girls’ sprint events, following Desiree Henry in 2011 (200m), Jodie Williams in 2009 (100m and 200m) and Asha Philip in 2007 (100m).Baker took silver in 53.38, while Jamaica’s Tiffany James ran 53.56 for bronze, holding off Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Oanh (53.80).Marincu and Patterson take jumps titlesRomania’s Florentina Marincu arrived in Donetsk as the top-ranked long jumper, but she will be leaving with a gold medal in the Triple Jump.After leaping 13.67m in qualifying, Marincu bounded out to 13.75m in the opening round of the final, the best outdoor performance by a youth girl this year. China’s Wang Rong, who has broken 14 metres indoors this year, soon responded with 13.69m to move into second place, pushing Brazil’s Nubia Soares down one place.Soares, who had jumped 13.60m, was then overtaken by USA’s Keturah Orji’s 13.61m. With her final leap of the competition, Orji improved to 13.69m, but Wang remained in second place on count-back.With no further improvements in the final round, Marincu remained the leader with her 13.75m, just 11 centimetres shy of the championship record set by compatriot Cristine Spataru a decade ago.In the other jumps final of the evening, the girls’ High Jump, Australia’s Eleanor Patterson lived up to her pre-event favourite status to take gold.She opened her campaign with the bar set at 1.79m, going straight into the lead with a first-time clearance. She continued to clear each bar on her first attempt, jumping 1.82m and 1.85m.Italy’s Erika Furlani, who had jumped a PB of 1.82m to move into second, exited the competition with a failure at 1.85m. But Patterson continued jumping, clearing that height on her second attempt, then setting a PB of 1.88m.The bronze medal was shared between South Africa’s Julia de Plessis and Morocco’s Rhizlane Siba, both jumping 1.79m.Exciting battle in Hammer finalFollowing the exit of Joaquin Gomez in the qualification round, Matthew Denny headed into the boys’ Hammer final as the top-ranked athlete. And when the Australian threw 77.37m in the first round, it looked as though he was set to take gold.But Pavel Paliakou of Belarus took the lead in round three with a throw of 78.45m, backing it up with 77.92m with his following throw.His team-mate Raman Zholudzeu then improved to 78.55m to move into second, but Denny then reclaimed the top spot with his penultimate throw of 78.67m.It was all to play for in the final round, but it was Croatia’s Matija Greguric who seized the opportunity best, sending his Hammer out to a PB of 79.38m to snatch pole position.He had a nervous wait as the other three took their final attempts. Zholudzeu didn’t improve, while Denny fouled. But Paliakou threw 79.02m to move into second as Denny was once again shunted down to third place. Lake leads overnight in HeptathlonAfter a great start this morning with PBs in the 100m Hurdles and High Jump, Britain’s Morgan Lake extended her lead in the Heptathlon with the best Shot Put mark of the day, 14.59m.She ended the day with a 25.56 clocking in the 200m, marginally outside her PB, to bring her total to 3736 – some 113 points ahead of her PB pace.Sweden’s Emma Stenlof remained in second place after setting a PB of 13.84m in the Shot and running 25.80 in the 200m, while Germany’s Celina Leffler moved into third overall after posting the fastest time of the day in the 200m with 24.48.Relief for Hinriksdottir in 800m semifinalsIceland’s Anita Hinriksdottir was one of the biggest favourites in Donetsk and she ran a superb 2:04.96 to win her 800m semifinal. But moments later she and second-placed Ethiopian Kokeb Tesfaye were disqualified for breaking too early.Fortunately for Hinriksdottir, she was later reinstated by the track referee, though Tesfaye’s disqualification was upheld.In the other semifinal, Ethiopia’s Dureti Edao won from Australia’s Georgia Wassall, both dipping under 2:06. The US pair of Raevyn Rogers and Ersula Farrow also made it through.Finnish athletes led each group of the boys’ Javelin qualification with Lassi Saarinen throwing 78.65m and Oliver Helander 75.80m. Slovenia’s Matija Muhar was second-best overall with 76.73m, while Hungary’s Norbert Rivasz-Toth advanced comfortably with 74.01m.But Swedish hope Simon Latzill, who was the third-best entrant heading into Donetsk, failed to make the cut with just 69.53m. World youth leader Lazaro Martinez used a relatively short run-up in the boys’ Triple Jump qualifying, but the Cuban still managed to qualify with ease for the final, jumping 15.48m. USA’s Keandre Bates smashed his PB by 40 centimetres to lead the qualifiers with 15.70m, while Long Jump bronze medallist Fang Yaoqing also made it through with 15.63m.Jamaica’s Obrien Wasome, the fourth-ranked youth triple jumper this year, finished down in 17th to miss making the final.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

Double gold for Jamaica while Steeplechase World youth best broken – IAAF World Youth Championships

Jamaica had their best day yet here in Donetsk at the IAAF World Youth Championships, taking gold in the boys’ 110m Hurdles and the 400m, while Ethiopia’s Marese Kahsay set a World youth best in the 2000m Steeplechase on the third day of action.

The majority of sprinting events during the morning session on the first day of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk saw US athletes record the fastest times in the heats.The wind was generally against the sprinters in the boys’ 100m heats, but it would occasionally switch direction in their favour. One such heat saw USA’s Kenzo Cotton win in 10.52 (0.1m/s), the fastest time of the day.China’s Mo Youxue was the next fastest with 10.64, but he had to contend with a -1.7m/s headwind. Britain’s Ojie Edoburun, winner of the sixth heat, also looked very impressive, easing down way before the finish to clock 10.68 into a -1.0m/s headwind.Cotton’s US team-mate Jaalan Jones also made it safely through to the next round, as did Jamaica’s world youth leader Michael O’Hara and his compatriot Waseem Williams, both running 10.66 to win their respective heats.Hall and Bakare make easy work of qualificationWorld youth leader Yanique Thompson of Jamaica made it safely through to the next round of the 100m hurdles, winning her heat in 13.52. But USA’s Dior Hall looked the most impressive as she clocked 13.39 into a -1.6m/s headwind to win her heat. That time is a personal best for her over the 76cm hurdles, though it should be noted she has a superior 13.18 over the senior height hurdles.Thompson’s and Hall’s team-mates filled the next two spots, Mikiah Brisco of USA running 13.73 to qualify and Rushelle Burton of Jamaica progressing with 13.78.USA’s Ryan Clark won his 400m heat by more than a second, posting the fastest time of the day with a PB of 46.84. Kenya’s Ian Mutuku smashed his personal best with 46.85 to win his heat, but he was pushed all the way by Australia’s Samuel Baird, who ran a lifetime best of 46.97.World youth leader Devaughn Baker of Jamaica easily won his heat with 47.58, but his compatriot Martin Manley was quicker, winning the sixth heat in 47.08.The only sprint event of the morning session where a US athlete didn’t post the fastest qualifying mark was the girls’ 400m. Britain’s Sabrina Bakare ran a controlled 54.16 in the fifth heat. USA’s world youth leader Olivia Baker won her heat in 54.41, while Jamaican duo Tiffany James and Yanique McNeil also won their heats.Field event favourites throughThere were few surprises in the qualifying rounds of the field events. Chinese duo Xie Yuchen and Liang Xinyun were the best in the girls’ Discus. Xie led group B with 52.94m, farther than any other youth athlete in the world has thrown this year.Current world youth leader Konrad Bukowiecki of Poland qualified with ease for tonight’s Shot final, throwing 19.96m. But Germany’s Patrick Muller produced the best throw of the morning with 21.25m in group A, while Egypt’s Ahmed Sherif Adel Salem led group B with 20.36m.Anatoliy Ryapolov, who recently broke the Russian youth best in the Long Jump, lived up to expectations in qualifying, leaping a wind-assisted 7.73m to advance to the final. Brazil’s Samory Fraga jumped a PB of 7.66m to lead the other group, while Chinese favourites Fang Yaoqing and Zhong Peifeng also made it safely through.But Ryapolov’s team-mate Maksim Iuniakin, one of the top jumpers in the world this year, failed to make it through after a foul in round one and a 6.40m effort in round two.Australia’s Eleanor Patterson, the top-ranked youth girl in the world this year, ensured she qualified for the High Jump final with the least possible effort. Her only jump of the day, a first-time clearance at 1.74m, was good enough for joint 11th place overall.Ten other girls cleared 1.77m, led by South Africa’s Julia de Plessis and Italy’s Erika Furlani.Elsewhere, Ethiopia won both of the girls’ 1500m heats with world youth leader Tigist Gashaw running 4:18.55 and Dawit Seyaum clocking a PB of 4:14.40. Kenya’s Iveen Chepkemoi tried to stick with Seyaum and was rewarded with a PB of 4:17.81. Meanwhile, Japan’s Maki Izumida was Gashaw’s nearest challenger in the first heat, finishing more than two seconds behind in 4:20.60.The boys’ Octathlon is a quarter of the way through and Norway’s Karsten Warholm currently leads. He posted the fastest time of the day in the 100m with 10.86 and the best mark in the Long Jump with 7.30m. World youth leader Santiago Ford of Cuba is currently down in eighth place after a disappointing 100m, running just 11.51. But he performed solidly in the Long Jump with 7.00m and has six more events in which to bank valuable points.Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF

US athletes impress on first morning in Donetsk – IAAF World Youth Championships

The majority of sprinting events during the morning session on the first day of the IAAF World Youth Championships in Donetsk saw US athletes record the fastest times in the heats.