Coming into the girls’ hammer final, Cuba’s Amanda Almendariaz wouldn’t have been most people’s idea of the champion, but with a rapid spin, a slingshot release and a high, arcing trajectory of the metal sphere, she changed that in the space of a few seconds.

As is often the case when it’s hammer time, it’s the Eastern European entrants who should be looked to first. Romania’s Ana Adela Stanciu is the leading thrower in the field, with a best of 69.58m this season, which she threw in Istanbul to win the Balkan Youth Championships last month. She has thrown over 69 metres in three of her five competitions with the 3kg ball this year, so should prove tough to beat.

Dominant 400m hurdles victories by USA’s Norman Grimes and Sydney McLaughlin capped the penultimate day of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 at Pascual Guerrero Stadium on Saturday (18), which once again played host to one of the largest crowds to ever witness these championships.

As expected, world youth leader Sofiya Galkina emerged victorious in the girls’ hammer but Russia’s first gold medal in the event didn’t lack some late-hour drama at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 on Saturday (18).

Armed with three throws to her credit beyond 71 metres this season, Sofiya Palkina arrives in Cali as the overwhelming favourite.

As a young girl, Reka Gyuratz used to wander over to the Hammer training centre in her home town of Szombathely to watch the athletes go through their paces and sometimes compete. It proved to be an inspirational experience because she took up the event at the age of 13 and became the country’s latest global champion in Donetsk on Saturday.

As predicted, Reka Gyuratz and Helga Volgyi continued their intense rivalry and achieved a Hungarian one-two in the girls’ Hammer Throw final, surpassing 70 metres on seven occasions.