A tricky thing, to be coached by your father. Timo Northoff knows this, but at the same time there&rsquo;s no one else he&rsquo;d rather have guide his career, particularly now, after the young German claimed shot put gold at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017.
&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s the best training in the world because we understand each other,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;My father was also a shot putter so I followed his way.&rdquo;
His dad, Tilman, was the one who first coaxed Timo into the sport at age 13. &ldquo;Back then I did everything,&rdquo; recalls Timo, &ldquo;long jump, sprints, shot put and discus.&rdquo;
In those early years, however, his lack of size relative to his peers meant he did not show flashes of his vast potential. &ldquo;I was really small and tiny at the start, but over the years with training I have developed,&rdquo; he says.
When he had built that strong, stable frame in his mid-teens, he and his father soon realised his future lay in the shot put.
His dad had been a combinedi-eventer for much of his career, but turned his attention to the shot put at the age of 30, eventually throwing his lifetime best of 19.02m at the age of 36. Many years later he is still competing, but has had to face the inevitable in seeing his son out-perform him.
At their home in Bielefeld, Westphalia, Tilman oversees his son&rsquo;s training, which is currently six days a week and split between the gym and throwing circle, and his dad has been present for every competition &ndash; except Timo&rsquo;s most recent one.
<h3>Anxious afternoon</h3>
Heading to Nairobi, the pressure was heaped on the youngster&rsquo;s shoulders, given he was highly ranked, and the 17-year-old&rsquo;s nerves only grew when he had a shaky qualification round on Thursday morning. He opened with just 17.08m, followed up with 17.58m, but found his rhythm in the final round to throw 19.37m and secure his place in the final. It made for an anxious afternoon.
&ldquo;I was really nervous because qualification was not the best,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I didn&rsquo;t know what would come from me in the final.&rdquo;
He need not have worried. Northoff opened in the final with 20.12m to seize the lead, then extended his advantage in round two with a throw of 20.50m, a personal best by three centimetres. With none of his rivals able to surpass the 20-metre barrier, that allowed him the luxury of walking into the throwing circle for the final time with the gold medal secured, but Northoff&rsquo;s work wasn&rsquo;t done.
He produced a whopping effort of 20.72m to smash his lifetime best, the perfect way to finish the competition, the first of his career where his dad was not present.
<h3>Going it alone</h3>
&ldquo;Not having him here was really difficult for me because I didn&rsquo;t know how to adjust as well, so I&rsquo;m glad that it functioned,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;I hope he sat before the live stream watching.&rdquo;
And how did he plan to celebrate becoming a world champion? &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll call my dad first,&rdquo; he said, &ldquo;then maybe celebrate with the German team.&rdquo;
Right now the future is a question that can be tackled another day, but as a world U18 champion it seems Northoff has every right to dream big.
He currently has one year left in school, and admits he has &ldquo;no idea&rdquo; what path he will choose then, but either way the shot put will be front and centre of his plans.
When he&rsquo;s not training or studying, Northoff, a devout Christian, likes to read the bible. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s important in my life,&rdquo; he says.
His next competition will be back on home turf in Ulm, after which he&rsquo;ll take a well-earned end-of-season break, which will inevitably involve watching the IAAF World Championships London 2017. Back at home, he&rsquo;ll be cheering on his favourite shot putter, David Storl, who won the same title as Northoff back in 2007.
While the young German wasn&rsquo;t keen to put any further pressure on himself about following in Storl&rsquo;s footsteps, he admitted he has every intention to make good on his extraordinary talent.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll do my best,&rdquo; he says, &ldquo;and see how far I can go.&rdquo;
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

A tricky thing, to be coached by your father. Timo Northoff knows this, but at the same time there’s no one else he’d rather have guide his career, particularly now, after the young German claimed shot put gold at the IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017.

With his dad's help, Northoff strikes gold in Nairobi

As a contest, this was over not long after it began. When Germany&rsquo;s Timo Northoff walked into the throwing circle for the second round &ndash; having opened with a decent effort of 20.12m to seize the lead &ndash; it became clear the gold medal was headed his way as he unleashed a lifetime best of 20.50m.
In the third round, Northoff followed up with a foul, his put landing far to the left of the throwing plane and very nearly taking out a trio of officials seated there. His fourth round effort was well down on his best, the German willingly committing the foul after seeing it land, while the fifth saw him lose balance and step out of the circle.
With victory assured, however, Northoff stepped into the circle for his final throw and threw a whopper, 20.72m, a PB by 22cm and a world U18 lead to crown a memorable evening. &nbsp;
In the end, his closest threat &ndash; if we could call it that &ndash; came from Belarus&rsquo;s Mikhail Samuseu, who threw 19.99m in the fifth round which secured him silver. Jonathan De Lacey of South Africa looked sure to challenge for the gold after his second-round effort of 19.93m, but that was a mark he couldn&rsquo;t improve on in his subsequent attempts.
If there was a hard-luck story, then perhaps it was Bosnia and Herzegovina&rsquo;s Nermin Stitkovac, who had thrown 19.60m in qualifying but could manage no better than 19.06m in the final, which placed him fifth. Stitkovac appeared to unleash a 20-metre throw in the final round, which would have been good enough to move him into the medal positions, but it was ruled a foul.
Chile&rsquo;s Claudio Romera acquitted himself admirably with a PB of 19.22m in the final round to take fourth place.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

As a contest, this was over not long after it began. When Germany’s Timo Northoff walked into the throwing circle for the second round – having opened with a decent effort of 20.12m to seize the lead – it became clear the gold medal was headed his way as he unleashed a lifetime best of 20.50m.


Report: boys' shot put – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017

If form lines are to be believed, then this should come down to an all-European battle for the medals, with German pair Jonas Tesch and Timo Northoff taking on Belarus&rsquo;s Mikhail Samuseu.
Tesch is the leading thrower in the field, the 16-year-old boasting a lifetime best of 20.51m, 4cm better than his compatriot Northoff. However, Samuseu, who has thrown 20.37m this season, will look to ensure the Germans don&rsquo;t have it all their own way.
In truth, those three hold such an advantage that the medals should be split among them, but at this level it&rsquo;s unwise to write off the other contenders given the capacity for a teenage breakthrough. South Africa&rsquo;s Jonathan De Lacey, who has thrown 19.70m this season, could be capable of a podium finish, along with Turkey&rsquo;s Alperen Karahan, a 19.42m thrower this year.
Cathal Dennehy for the IAAF

If form lines are to be believed, then this should come down to an all-European battle for the medals, with German pair Jonas Tesch and Timo Northoff taking on Belarus’s Mikhail Samuseu.

Preview: boys' shot put – IAAF World U18 Championships Nairobi 2017

An impressive championship record of 10.28 in the boys&rsquo; 100m by Japan&rsquo;s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown capped an entertaining opening day of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 on Wednesday (15).Sani Brown&rsquo;s dominant victory in the Colombian city came in one of the four finals in a breezy Pascual Guerrero Stadium, but was certainly the most impressive.The 16-year-old arrived in Cali with a 10.30 personal best from May, one he equalled in this morning&rsquo;s opening round and again in the semi-finals. In the final, it was clearly a battle of Sani Brown against the clock from 40 metres onwards when he began to extend his lead with every stride. Improbably, he stopped the clock in 10.29, which was later adjusted by another notch in his favour to land him on the doorstep of the event&rsquo;s all-time top-ten.Derrick Silva of Brazil was a distant second in 10.49 with Great Britain&rsquo;s Rechmial Miller crossing the line in 10.59 for third.Adrian Piperi took command of the boys&rsquo; shot put in the second round with a national youth record of 22.00m to collect the USA&rsquo;s second gold in the event. It was an improvement of nearly a metre for the 16-year-old, one he managed to match with his throw in the final round and which catapulted him to the top of the world season&rsquo;s list and ninth on the world youth all-time list.Poland&rsquo;s Szymon Mazur was second with 21.77m while Sweden&rsquo;s Wictor Petersson took the bronze with 21.56m, personal bests for both athletes.Shuru Bulo of Ethiopia took a convincing victory in the girls&rsquo; 3000m, an event all but dominated by Kenya at these championships&rsquo; previous eight editions. Bulo, relatively unheralded prior to her arrival in Cali, took the lead with 200 metres remaining en route to her 9:01.12 performance, a world-youth-leading time. Kenya&rsquo;s Emily Chebet Kipchumba, who ran at the front for most of the race, finished second in 9:02.92, just ahead of teammate Sheila Chelangat.<h3>Emilianov's discus delight&nbsp; </h3>The fourth title of the day went to Moldova&rsquo;s Alexandra Emilianov who produced a minor upset in the girls&rsquo; discus.&nbsp; Emilianov threw a 52.78m personal best in the second round to take the lead for good from Montenegro&rsquo;s Kristina Rakocevic whose best on the day was a 51.14m effort, also from round two. Samantha Peace of Australia took the bronze, her 50.59m also a career best and the first medal in the event for Australia since Dani Samuels&rsquo; victory in 2005.In the decathlon at the halfway point, France&rsquo;s Ludovic Besson of France will carry a 29-point lead into the second day of these championships&rsquo; inaugural decathlon competition. The 17-year-old produced personal bests in four events &ndash; 10.97 in the 100m, 7.05m in the long jumps, 1.87m in the high jump and 49.93 in the 400m &ndash; to tally 4106 points, marginally ahead of the USA&rsquo;s George Patrick, who collected 4077. Patrick also notched four personal bests of his own: 7.26m in the long jump, 15.54m in the shot put, 1.96m in the high jump and 50.54 in the 400m.Propelled by 10.93 and 7.53m performances in the 100m and long jump, Hans-Christian Hausenberg sits in third with 4075 points. Germany's Niklas Kaul will also move up the standings on day two as his strongest event, the javelin, is yet to come.Ryusei Fujii of Japan led all qualifiers in the 400m hurdles with a 50.87 run, a personal best by more than half a second. Nearly as fast was the USA&rsquo;s Norman Grimes, who won heat five in 50.95.In the women&rsquo;s contest, USA's world youth leader Sydney McLaughlin solidified her favourite&rsquo;s role with a comfortable 56.81 victory in the opening heat, more than a second faster than anyone else.<h3>Amano looks a little like Aman</h3>Omer Amano made his ambitions to become the first 800m champion from Ethiopia quite clear with a confident 1:50.31 victory in the fifth heat to lead all qualifiers into Thursday evening&rsquo;s semi-finals. Other heat winners included Kenyans Willy Kiplimo Tarbei (1:50.92) and Kipyegon Bett (1:51.38) and Great Britain&rsquo;s Ben Greenwood (1:51.58). Meanwhile, Kenya looks to be on target for a second successive 1-2 finish in the girls&rsquo; 2000m steeplechase, courtesy of Sandrafelis Chebet Tuei and Celliphinie Chepteek Chespol. The pair dominated the evening&rsquo;s two opening round heats winning in 6:26.70 and 6:31.97 respectively. In the boys' triple jump qualifiers, world youth leader and pre-event favourite Cristian Atanay Napoles of Cuba led the round with a 15.98m effort, marginally ahead of China&rsquo;s Du Mingze who improved his career bet to 15.82m. In the girls&rsquo; javelin, Czech Republic&rsquo;s Nikol Tabackova topped the round with a 55.29m effort, with Germany&rsquo;s Lotte Reimann also throwing beyond 54 metres with 54.35m to her name.Day two action kicks off at 09:30 local time with the decathlon 110m hurdles. The evening will witness new champions crowned in the girls&rsquo; 100m, 100m hurdles, shot put and javelin, and in the decathlon and long jump on the boys&rsquo; programme.Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

An impressive championship record of 10.28 in the boys’ 100m by Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown capped an entertaining opening day of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 on Wednesday (15).

Sani Brown provides the highlights of the opening day in Cali

A near one-metre improvement enabled US shot putter Adrian
Piperi to secure the first gold medal of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 inside a breezy Pascual Guerrero
Stadium on Wednesday evening (15). In a competition which witnessed a blizzard of personal best
marks among the leading contenders, it was the Texan who prevailed courtesy of
a mighty second round heave of 22.00m, 94cm further than his previous best &ndash; a
distance he was to coincidentally match with his final throw.&nbsp; Behind, both Szymon Mazur of Poland (21.77m) and Wictor
Petersson of Sweden (21.56m) also shattered their best marks to claim silver
and bronze, respectively.&nbsp; In fact, in a results sheet that will lift the heart, the
top seven were credited with lifetime bests. Petersson led after round one with 20.87m followed by Mazur
20.44m, with Piperi making an early claim on bronze with 20.02m before the
competition exploded into life in round two. Firstly, South African Burger Lambrechts, hurled the 5kg
ball out to 20.87m to precisely match the distance first achieved by the Petersson.
In a bizarre quirk, the fast-spinning Swede then registered 20.87m for the
second time to briefly lead.However, Piperi made the competition much more clear cut, punching
the air in delight after recording a monster 2015 world youth leading distance
of 22.00m to take a firm control of the competition. The main mover in round three was the giant Pole, Mazur who
advanced from fifth to a solid silver position, adding 49cm to his personal
best with a 21.66m effort.&nbsp; There was no overall movement in the top three in round
four, although both Mazur with 21.77m and Petersson 21.56m solidified their
silver and bronze medal positions.Round fives and six provided no change to the overall picture,
although Piperi, with the gold medal in his pocket, further demonstrated his
superiority today by once again hurling the shot out to 22.00m with the final
act of the competition. He held his hand aloft in triumph following the throw. a
worthy winner. Steve Landells for
the IAAF&nbsp;

A near one-metre improvement enabled US shot putter Adrian Piperi to secure the first gold medal of the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 inside a breezy Pascual Guerrero Stadium on Wednesday evening (15). 

Boys' shot put – IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 

Barely 30 minutes after the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 got under way in the Colombian city, jaws dropped in the Pascual Guerrero stadium as Japan&rsquo;s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown sped to a championship record of 10.30 in the first heat of the 100m on Wednesday morning (15).Sani Brown, who has a Ghanaian father and Japanese mother, shaved 0.01 from the time set by Trinidad and Tobago&rsquo;s Darrel Brown in 2001 and equalled his personal best which is also the best time by a boy this year.Certainly the 962m altitude of the stadium helped, and expect to see some more superb times and distances in the sprints and jumps, but it was indicative of the fact that he has arrived in the Colombian city in fine form and could have the world youth best of 10.19, which belongs his compatriot Yoshihide Kiryu, in his sights.Brazil&rsquo;s Derick Silva was the next best when he won heat four in 10.42.Almost as impressive was the US hurdler Alexis Duncan who sped to a world-youth-leading time of 13.13 in the girls' 100m hurdles, which took 0.07 off her best and moved her up to sixth on the all-time list. Ecuador&rsquo;s Maribel Vanessa Caicedo was the next best in a personal best of 13.32.As is often traditionally the case, the decathlon&nbsp;&ndash; the first time it has been on the championship programme at this level as it has previously been an octathlon &ndash; also got underway on the opening morning.Estonia&rsquo;s Hans-Christian Hausenberg established a clear lead after two events with after being the quickest in the 100m with 10.83 and then coming out on top in the long jump with a leap of 7.53m.Hausenberg has an advantage of 121 points over USA&rsquo;s George Patrick, who is in second place.Languishing down in 15th place at the moment is Germany&rsquo;s event favourite Niklas Kaul but he is an outstanding thrower and will be expected to make up ground later in the competition.<h3>Kenyans and Ethiopians dominate 1500m heats</h3>The boys' 1500m heats went entirely to form with Ethiopia&rsquo;s Mulugata Assefa looking comfortable when winning the first heat in 3:52.97, followed home by Kenya&rsquo;s Lawi Kosgei.Kosgei&rsquo;s compatriot Kumari Taki then won reversed matters and won the second heat in 3:48.71, with Ethiopia&rsquo;s Welde Tufa second.Given this quartet&rsquo;s pedigree and impressive showing in the heats, it would be a huge surprise if anyone else was among the medals.Egypt&rsquo;s Shehab Mohamed Abdalaziz quickly secured qualification for the boys&rsquo; shot put final when he sent his implement out to a personal best of 20.79m with his first attempt.Also beyond 20 metres in qualifying were Poland&rsquo;s Szymon Mazur with 20.77m and Sweden&rsquo;s Wictor Petersson with 20.02m, both easily exceeding the automatic qualifying distance of 19.45m with their first efforts.USA&rsquo;s Josephus Lyles was the fastest boy in the 400m heats in 46.26 but just 0.01 behind him was Colombia&rsquo;s Anthony Jose Zambrano in a national youth record of 46.27 to give the host nation enhanced hopes of appearing on the medal table at these championships.Despite good conditions for high jumping, only six girls got over the automatic qualifying height of 1.80m but Czech favourite Michaela Hruba, a silver medallist at the IAAF World Junior Championships last summer, showed her experience and class when needing only two attempts &ndash; one each at 1.77m and 1.80m &ndash; to progress.Russia&rsquo;s Tatyana Ermanchenkova was also flawless among the six girls who got over 1.80m.Canada&rsquo;s Kyra Constantine made a big impression when she was the fastest in the first round of the girls&rsquo; 400m in a personal best of 53.20 but it was noticeable that many of the other expected medal contenders were running well within themselves at this stage of the competition.Australia&rsquo;s Darcy Roper gave all the other long jumpers something to think about when he flew out to 7.88m in the qualification round, a distance only he and the two Cubans, worldyouth leader Maykel Masso and Juan Miguel Echevarria, have beaten this year. Both the Cubans also qualified without too much difficulty.Phil Minshull for the IAAF

Barely 30 minutes after the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 got under way in the Colombian city, jaws dropped in the Pascual Guerrero stadium as Japan’s Abdul Hakim Sani Brown sped to a championship record of 10.30 in the first heat of the 100m on Wednesday morning (15).

Sani Brown gets opening morning in Cali off to a flying start

The chief medal challengers would appear to be the three boys who have hurled the 5kg shot beyond 21 metres. Leading the way is Swedish talent Wictor Petersson following a mighty 21.26m effort in early June.
Poland&rsquo;s 16-year-old Szymon Mazor has registered both 21.17m and 21.12m marks this year while US athlete Adrian Piperi, who reached 21.06m to win the US youth title in late June, is also in prime form.
The South African duo Burger Lambrechts (not to be confused with the three-time former African shot champion of the same name) and Patrick Duvenhage, with season's best marks of 20.89m and 20.62m respectively, should also be factored into the equation.
Other names to look out for are Egypt&rsquo;s Shehab Mohamed Abdulaziz and Mexico&rsquo;s Alejandro Castillo, who have reached 20.78m and 20.69m respectively.
Steve Landells for the IAAF

The chief medal challengers would appear to be the three boys who have hurled the 5kg shot beyond 21 metres. Leading the way is Swedish talent Wictor Petersson following a mighty 21.26m effort in early June.

Boys' shot put preview – IAAF World Youth Championships Cali 2015

Patrick Muller made a little bit of IAAF World Youth Championships history when the German shot putter became the first gold medallist of the 2013 edition and he did it in some style with a winning distance of 22.02m, the second-best performance in the history of the championships.With his mother Ines, the 1987 IAAF World Championships Shot Put bronze medallist, watching proudly from the stands, the bespectacled German teenager rose to the occasion and pulled out his personal best and winning throw with his first effort.“This is an incredible feeling, with my best friend (silver medallist Henning Prufer) standing up there on the podium and hearing the national anthem. This is what you train so hard for,” said a delighted Muller.“First and second place, for me and Henning, we did not dream this before we came here. We joked: ‘I’ll be first, you can be second’ But we didn’t really expect to be! However, I have to confess, a few hours before the final, we did practice the words of the national anthem in our hotel room. “After reaching 21.25m in the morning session to lead the qualification, I knew I was in great form I felt a personal best was possible in the final (his previous best was 21.92m) and I knew that I could be in contention for a medal but I certainly didn’t dare to give myself the gold medal.“Remember I wasn’t even the world leader coming here, that was Poland’s Konrad Bukowiecki (who had a below-par competition and finished fifth), he had problems in this competition but I had been following his competitions on the internet and knew what he might be capable of. I knew Henning could cause a shock as well and there were the others.”Muller couldn’t let his concentration slip as Prufer unleashed a personal best of 21.94m with the very first attempt of the competition. Briefly, Prufer had also snatched away the German youth record from Muller and with six boys over 20 metres, the contest finished as the highest-quality competition for depth ever seen at the World Youth Championships. “I had seen in the morning qualification that Henning was in super form. I knew that he may challenge me. I had adjusted to it. My coach (Gerald Bergmann) told me immediately after his surprise effort, ‘Now let's see what you've got,’ that motivated me and I responded well, which made me very happy.”Inevitably any young German shot putter will be compared to the current World champion David Storl, one of only 10 athletes to win at youth, junior and senior World Championships.In fact, Storl is the only other German boy to win the Shot Put at the IAAF World Youth Championships, a feat he achieved in 2007.“I think that this says a lot for the state of German athletes, two gold medals in four editions of the championships. "Storl is definitely a role model for me. He's a great guy; he's a great putter, very focused. We also have a similar technique. We draw our strength from the quickness of our feet. I will of course try to follow in his footsteps. I have already beaten his German youth record and I will try to out-do his next feat, his junior record as well.“We do train together sometimes. However, he hasn’t been the biggest influence on me out of the famous German throwers. I have to say thank you also to Robert Harting, he has always been encouraging me, inspiring me, and giving me advice on how to handle competitions. I am regularly in contact with him."Muller now has a few competitions left this summer and his goal now is to improve his personal best even further.“It was great that I could respond in a big competition and throw well when important medals were at stake but after my first round throw, the adrenaline was going through my body. I was throwing a little crazy. I got some good distances with some of my other throws but I was getting a little too carried away.“Fortunately, I think that was happening to Henning as well, neither of us improved after the first round. In the end, the fact that I was not as disciplined as I should have been didn’t matter, but I will learn from this experience as well,” reflected Muller.Phil Minshull for the IAAF &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

It's Muller time in Donetsk as German takes first gold medal

With a series of impressive throws, Patrick Muller led a German one-two in the boys’ Shot Put final, taking the World youth title with a 22.02m lifetime best from his compatriot Henning Prufer, who was second with 21.94m.The 17-year-old Muller opened the competition with his winning throw, a 10cm improvement on his previous best, to become the second German to win at this level after the current World champion David Storl, who clinched the 2007 World youth title in Ostrava with a 21.40m effort.&nbsp;&nbsp; Muller will hope to go down the same path as Storl, as the 22-year-old went on to claim the World junior crown the following year, and also won the London 2012 Olympic Games silver medal last summer.His strong series of throws including marks of 21.63m, 21.85m and 21.20m but Muller – who qualified easily and in first place with 21.25m in the morning – had to respond well because his friend Prufer sent his implement out to a best of 21.94m with the very first put of the competition before four consecutive fouls and a last effort of 21.18m.Egypt’s Mohamed Magdi Hamza was a distant third with 20.58m in the fourth round to overtake Croatia’s Martin Markovic, who had reached 20.54m in the second round but then reeled off four fouls. Poland’s&nbsp; Konrad Bukowiecki, the 2013 boys leader before the competition got under way could get nowhere near his best in the final and will be disappointed to finish fifth with 20.10m, over two metres down on his 22.33m personal best set earlier this summer.&nbsp;

Muller goes out to 22.02m to win Shot Put

There are just two weeks to go before Donetsk, Ukraine stages the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships, from 10-14 July, but memories are still fresh of the outstanding last edition of these championships, held two years ago in the French city of Lille.World youth best performances were established by Kenyan 800m runner Leonard Kosencha, New Zealand shot putter Jacko Gill and Australian combined events exponent Jake Stein.Kosencha produced a jaw-dropping performance in Lille to win in a stunning 1:44.08, beating a field that included Ethiopia’s Mohammed Aman and Kenya’s Timothy Kitum, two athletes who went on to achieve considerable success in 2012 with Aman winning the World indoor title and Kitum taking bronze at the London Olympic Games.If Kosencha was globally a little-known name ahead of the championships, the same cannot be said of Gill who had won the World junior title in 2010 and was also the owner of the World Youth Best mark of 23.86m, which he produced in December 2010.Despite a slightly injured finger, Gill was in outstanding form in Lille, sending his 5kg implement out to 24.35m in the second round and having two other attempts go over 24 metres. Gill became one of only three athletes to be crowned as a youth champion after having already won at the IAAF World Junior Championships. Usain Bolt achieved that feat in 2003, and then in Lille, the Bahamian sprinter Shaunae Miller later became the first female to do so when she won the 400m in 51.84.An inspired Stein improved the Octathlon World youth best mark with youth implements by nine points to 6491 after setting personal bests in seven of the eight events.The key to Stein's success were his throws. His distance of 17.22m in the Shot, the third event, was more than a metre better than anyone else managed and moved him into the lead, a position he never relinquished.On the second day, Stein improved his Javelin best by more than nine metres, throwing 59.65m to give him a virtually unassailable lead. He then gritted his teeth in the 1000m to run 2:52.93 to grab all the accolades and triumph by 364 points for the biggest winning margin in the history of the championships.Both the boys’ and girls’ 1000m Medley Relays also saw World youth best performances established, although the 100m-200m-300m-400m format is not often run internationally.The USA squad of Ronald Darby, Aldrich Bailey, Najee Glass and individual 400m winner Arman Hall combined forces to produce a time of 1:49.47. It reduced by nearly a second the mark set by another US quartet at the 2009 Championships.Jamaica’s Christania Williams, Shericka Jackson, Chrisann Gordon and Olivia James ran 2:03.42 to improve on the mark of 2:03.83 set by the United States in 2001.Three other boys’ championship records were set. &nbsp;Kenya’s Wiliam Sitonik won the 3000m in 7:40.10, Hungarian Hammer prodigy Bence Pasztor threw 82.60m and Russia’s Pavel Parshin carried on his country’s great walking tradition when winning the 10,000m Race Walk in 40:51.31.Two girls also set individual championship records. Kenya’s Faith Chepngetich Kipyegon added the 1500m title to the gold medal she won in the junior race at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships barely fourth months earlier, while Germany’s Christin Hussong added nearly three metres to the Javelin mark with an effort of 59.74m.With 16 medals, six of them gold, the United States once again topped the medals table, as they have done on four of the six previous occasions.However, once again the medals table amply demonstrated the global appeal and reach of the championships and the spread of athletics talent around the world. No less than 18 countries won gold medals, while 35 different countries stood on the podium, with each of the IAAF Area Associations being represented.IAAF

Looking back to Lille two years ago – IAAF World Youth Championships

The starting signal to the World Youth Championship will fall for 1300 athletes from 180 nations and five continents in less than a week. This is the highest number of participants for any WYC so far. Austria will be represented by seven athletes. The farmer’s boy Lukas Weißhaidinger from Taufkirchen in Upper Austria might win the first WYC medal for the Austrian Athletics Federation.
Austria, situated in the hearts of the Alps, has had its challenges to assert itself in the world of international athletics. A medal in both the U18 WCs (best so far a 7th rank) and U20 WCs (4th rank) has proven elusive. But things could change at the sixth WYC taking place in Bressanone/Brixen in South Tyrol just 47km south of the Austrian border between July 8th and 12th. 
Lukas Weißhaidinger has the best odds among the 7-member strong delegation from Austria. The 17-year-old youngster has built his strength growing up on a farm in Taufkirchen in Upper Austria. Weißhaidinger produced this year’s third best performance in the discus throw (1.5kg) and is sixth in the shot put (5kg). He is 193cm tall and weighs 105kg. 
“Lukas is the classic nature-boy and a gentle giant.” says Christian Röhrling, responsible coach for the Austrian Athletics Federation. “The results speak clearly. This day could be marked in the history of athletics in Austria.” But Mr. Röhrling deliberately did not mention the word “medal”.
Weißhaidinger will come to Bressanone/Brixen in company of his large fan club from his home town.&nbsp; The Austrian athlete is already acquainted with the renovated stadium as well having participated in the recently staged Brixia-Meeting. Winning the discus event with a personal best of 59.76m bodes well for next week.
IAAF
Youth Austrian Team: Girls: Kira GRÜNBERG (ATSV Innsbruck), Pole Vault 3.91m Nicole TOBOLKA (ÖTB Salzburg LA), 100m Hurdles 14:13sec (+1.9) Ivona DADIC (PSV Wels), Heptathlon 4845 Points Boys: Lukas WEISSHAIDINGER (ÖTB OÖ), Shot-put (5kg) 19.81 m | Discus (1.5kg) 59.76m Thomas PASTL (Zehnkampf Union), Pole Vault 4.60m Manuel LEITNER (PSV Wels), Long Jump 7.12m Sebastian KAPFERER (Innsbrucker AC Pharmador), Long Jump 7.27m | 110m Hurdles 14:28sec (-1.2)

The starting signal to the World Youth Championship will fall for 1300 athletes from 180 nations and five continents in less than a week. This is the highest number of participants for any WYC so far. Austria will be represented by seven athletes. The farmer’s boy Lukas Weißhaidinger from Taufkirchen in Upper Austria might win the first WYC medal for the Austrian Athletics Federation.

Austria’s hopes for a first in Bressanone

READ ON for English and French language versions of this press release
- La traduction française suit le texte anglais&nbsp;&nbsp;
London, UK - President Diack gave the formal welcome this morning in the Guoman Tower Hotel, London, on the occasion of the first IAAF Council Meeting to be held in the British capital since 1988.
“I’m delighted and excited to be in the capital of Great Britain, a true sporting nation, which has a defining role in athletics for so many years,” said President Diack. 
“My heartfelt thanks to all those who welcomed us here and provided us with remarkable accommodation and working conditions, just days after a highly successful and well organised edition of the World Cross Country Championships in Edinburgh.”
“Athletics is now in the last lap of the race to the Beijing Games and we are looking forward to again confirming our status as the number 1 Olympic sport, and this Council will state forcefully our ambition to attain the objectives we have set ourselves for the Centenary of our association in 2012. We need an increasingly pragmatic approach to identifying important decisions.”
“The recent signature of the convention whereby the Moroccan Youth and Sports Ministry, the Ministry for Education, the Royal Moroccan Athletics Federation and the IAAF, agreed to implement a vast programme to introduce and develop athletics in the nation’s schools. This is precisely the type of initiative, both concrete and efficient, which needs to be set up, encouraged and supported throughout the world.” “I am anxious to see, amongst other reforms helping us to progress, the harmonisation of the calendar of world events, improvements in the format of our competitions and also that these be adapted to be in line with the viewing needs of TV audiences. I want to stress that these changes should be in place for the next World Indoor Champs in Doha in 2010, Daegu in 2011 and Moscow in 2013.” 
Court of Arbitration in Sport
A hearing date for the case of Justin Gatlin has been set for&nbsp;28-29 May 2008 
In the case of Oscar Pistorius, a date of&nbsp;29-30 April 2008 has been accepted for the hearing.
The IAAF is supporting WADA in its appeal against the sanction handed to Latasha Jenkins by a USADA arbitration panel which centred on an alleged breach in laboratory procedures. The IAAF agrees with the WADA position on the basis that any breach did not cause or otherwise undermine the reliability of the adverse finding.
Transfers of Allegiance
The following transfers of allegiance have been finalised since 1 January 2008
Athlete - Nationality&nbsp;- Eligible from Jerome Romain&nbsp;- FRA to DMA&nbsp;&nbsp;10 January 2008 Jonathan Brown&nbsp;- GBR to CAN&nbsp;&nbsp;21 January 2008 Luis Felipe Meliz&nbsp;- CUB to ESP&nbsp;&nbsp;27 December 2008 Allen Simms&nbsp;-&nbsp;PUR to USA&nbsp;&nbsp;30 July 2008 Fabian Florant&nbsp;- DOM to NED&nbsp;&nbsp;24 June 2008 Kia Davis&nbsp;-&nbsp;USA to LBR&nbsp;&nbsp;25 December 2007 Zoe Brown&nbsp;-&nbsp;GBR to IRL&nbsp;&nbsp;26 March 2008
 Anti-Doping Task Force
The final version of the new WADA Code has only been posted on the website in mid-March and related work on international standards continues. IAAF rule adoption needs to wait for that process to be completed.
Nonetheless, the IAAF recommends in case of penalties, that the World Code provision for more severe penalties in the case of “aggravating” circumstances be incorporated into IAAF Rules as soon as possible. Imposing longer penalties will require not only rule changes but adjudication processes as the circumstances of each case where longer penalties are proposed will require review. In case of missed tests, it is proposed that the IAAF adopt the international standard of “three missed tests in 18 months.”
Anti-Doping Task Force was created in the aftermath of the 2004 Olympic Games to provide leadership on behalf of Council to the development and implementation of the IAAF’s revitalised anti-doping strategy. Members are President Diack, Abby Hoffman, Bob Hersh and Juan Manuel Alonso, chairman of IAAF Medical and Anti-doping commission.
Competition Dates
The final of this year’s IAAF Race Walking Challenge will take place on 20/21 September 2008 in Murcia, Spain.
The following timetable was agreed for the next edition of the IAAF/Caixa World Half Marathon Championships which takes place on 12 October in Rio de Janeiro. Timetable: Women’s race 08:45 Men’s race 09:15
The mass race will begin shortly after the start of the men’s race.
IAAF agreed that the 24th edition of the IAAF World Race Walking Cup, Chihuahua, Mexico, will take place on 8/9 May 2010.
Youth Olympic Games
The Council approved the Technical Regulations for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG). The Athletics events of these Games shall be held on four non-consecutive days and that programme shall comprise the following 30 events, 15 for Boys and 15 for Girls (athletes aged 16 or 17 on December 31 2010). The IOC quota of athletes for the YOG has been set at 640 athletes, where there will be a maximum of 1 athlete per delegation competing in each individual event.
Boys 100m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, Pentathlon, 110m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, 2000m Steeplechase, Medley Relay, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put (5kg), Discus Throw (1.5kg) and Javelin Throw (700g)
Girls 100m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, Pentathlon, 100m Hurdles, 400m Hurdles, 2000m Steeplechase, Medley Relay, High Jump, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Shot Put (4kg), Discus Throw (1kg) and Javelin Throw (600g)
World Athletics Day
As of 17 March, 134 Member Federations announced their intention to take part in the 2008 World Athletics Day, (May date tbc) with 118 already committed to organising the event with school participation..
IAAF Coaches’ Congress
It was agreed that an IAAF World Coaches’ Conference will be held immediately after the 2009 edition of the World Championships in Berlin. 
Sustainable Development Commission
The first meeting of the IAAF Sustainable Development Commission will take place in August 2008 in Beijing.
IAAF
Une première journée très chargée Londres (Royaume-Uni) – Ce matin, le président Diack a ouvert solennellement au Guoman Tower Hotel de Londres la réunion du Conseil de l’IAAF, première du genre à se dérouler dans la capitale britannique depuis 1988. "Je suis ravi et enthousiasmé d’être dans la capitale de Grande-Bretagne, une authentique nation sportive qui joue un rôle précis en athlétisme depuis tant d’années", a souligné le président Diack.
"Merci du fond du cœur à tous ceux qui nous ont accueillis ici et nous ont permis d’évoluer dans des conditions d’hébergement et un environnement de travail remarquables, au lendemain d’une superbe édition des Championnats du Monde de Cross-Country à Edimbourg.
"L’athlétisme entame désormais le dernier tour de la course qui va nous mener jusqu’aux Jeux de Beijing et nous sommes impatients de confirmer notre statut de sport olympique numéro un. Ce Conseil exposera avec force notre volonté d’atteindre les objectifs que nous nous sommes fixés pour le centenaire de notre association en 2012. Nous devons adopter une approche encore plus pragmatique en identifiant les décisions importantes. "Je salue la signature récente d’une convention par laquelle le ministère de la Jeunesse et des Sports du Maroc, celui de l’Education, la Fédération royale marocaine d’athlétisme et l’IAAF sont tombés d’accord pour mettre en œuvre un vaste programme destiné à introduire et à développer l’athlétisme dans les écoles du pays. C’est précisément ce type d’initiative, concret et efficace à la fois, qui doit être mis sur pied, encouragé et soutenu dans le monde entier.
"Entre autres réformes qui vont nous aider à progresser, je souhaite l’harmonisation du calendrier des épreuves mondiales, l’amélioration du format de nos compétitions qui doivent également s’adapter afin d’être en phase avec les attentes des téléspectateurs. Ces changements devront être effectifs, et j’insiste là-dessus, pour les prochains Championnats du Monde en Salle de 2010 à Doha ainsi qu’à Daegu en 2011 et à Moscou en 2013." Tribunal arbitral du sport Les dates de l’audience du cas de Justin Gatlin ont été fixées aux 28 et 29 mai 2008. En ce qui concerne le cas d’Oscar Pistorius, les dates d’audience des 29 et 30 avril 2008 ont été acceptées. L’IAAF soutient l’AMA dans l’appel qu’elle a interjeté contre la levée de la sanction infligée à Latasha Jenkins par un panel arbitral de l’agence antidopage américaine qui avait mis en avant une prétendue erreur dans les procédures du laboratoire. L’IAAF est en accord avec la position de l’AMA, estimant qu’une erreur, quelle qu’elle soit, ne pouvait être la cause ou à l’inverse remettre en cause la fiabilité du résultat anormal. Changements de nationalité Les changements de nationalité suivants ont été entérinés depuis le 1er janvier 2008: Athlète — Nationalité - Eligible à partir du Jérôme Romain - FRA vers DMA - 10 janvier 2008 Jonathan Brown - GBR vers CAN - 21 janvier 2008 Luis Felipe Meliz - CUB vers ESP - 27 décembre 2008 Allen Simms - PUR vers USA - 30 juillet 2008 Fabian Florant - DOM vers NED - 24 juin 2008 Kia Davis - USA vers LBR - 25 décembre 2007 Zoe Brown - GBR vers IRL 26 mars 2008
Groupe de travail sur l’antidopage La version finale du nouveau Code de l’AMA n’a été mise en ligne sur le site internet qu’à la mi-mars et les travaux portant sur les normes internationales qui s’y rattachent se poursuivent. Il faudra donc attendre la fin de ce processus avant de pouvoir adopter la règle de l’IAAF. L’IAAF recommande néanmoins en cas de sanctions que la disposition du Code mondial pour des sanctions plus sévères en cas de circonstances aggravantes soit incorporée au plus tôt aux règles de l’IAAF. Imposer des sanctions plus longues nécessitera non seulement de modifier les règles, mais également des procédures de jugement dans la mesure où il faudra examiner les circonstances de chaque cas pour lequel des sanctions plus lourdes sont proposées. En cas de contrôles manqués, il est proposé que l’IAAF adopte la norme internationale de "trois contrôles manqués en dix-huit mois". Le Groupe de travail sur l’antidopage a été créée au lendemain des Jeux Olympiques de 2004 afin de fournir une direction au Conseil pour le développement et l’application d’une stratégie antidopage de l’IAAF plus vigoureuse. Les membres qui la composent sont le président Diack, Abby Hoffman, Bob Hersh et Juan Manuel Alonso, président de la commission médicale et antidopage de l’IAAF. Dates de compétitions La finale du Challenge de Marche de l’IAAF 2008 aura lieu les 20 et 21 septembre 2008 à Murcie (Espagne). Le programme suivant a été entériné pour la prochaine édition des Championnats du Monde de Semi-Marathon de l’IAAF/Caixa, le 12 octobre à Rio de Janeiro :
Horaires de départ : Femmes : 8 h 45 Hommes : 9 h 15 La course de masse débutera peu après le départ de la course masculine. L’IAAF a fixé les dates de la 24ème édition de la Coupe du Monde de Marche de l’IAAF qui aura lieu à Chihuahua au Mexique. L’épreuve se déroulera les 8 et 9 mai 2010. Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse Le Conseil a approuvé les règlements techniques des Jeux Olympiques de la Jeunesse (JOJ) de 2010. Les épreuves d’athlétisme de ces Jeux devront être réparties sur quatre jours non consécutifs et ce programme doit comprendre les 30 épreuves ci-dessous, 15 pour les garçons et 15 pour les filles (les athlètes devront avoir 16 ou 17 ans au 31 décembre 2010). Pour ces JOJ, le CIO a fixé un quota de 640 athlètes avec un athlète au maximum par délégation et par épreuve individuelle. Garçons 100m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, pentathlon, 110m haies, 400m haies, 2000m steeple, relais medley, hauteur, longueur, triple saut, poids (5kg), disque (1,5kg) et javelot (700g). Filles 100m, 400m, 800m, 3000m, pentathlon, 100m haies, 400m haies, 2000m steeple, relais medley, hauteur, longueur, triple saut, poids (4kg), disque (1kg) et javelot (600g). Journée mondiale de l’athlétisme Au 17 mars, 134 fédérations membres avaient annoncé leur intention de participer à la Journée mondiale de l’athlétisme 2008 (mai, date à fixer) dont 118 qui ont déjà pris l’engagement d’ouvrir l’épreuve aux scolaires. Congrès des entraîneurs de l’IAAF Il a été décidé que la Conférence des entraîneurs mondiaux de l’IAAF serait organisée en 2009 à Berlin, immédiatement après les Championnats du Monde de l’IAAF. Commission du Développement durable La première réunion de la commission du Développement durable de l’IAAF aura lieu en août 2008 à Beijing. IAAF
&nbsp;

- President Diack gave the formal welcome this morning in the Guoman Tower Hotel, London, on the occasion of the first IAAF Council Meeting to be held in the British capital since 1988.