Jaheel Hyde in the boys' 110m Hurdles at the IAAF World Youth Championships 2013 (© Getty Images)
Jaheel Hyde set a championship record of 13.13 to become Jamaica’s first ever 110m Hurdles World youth champion in the event on a night where his country moved to the top of the medal standings.
Inspired by Yanique Thompson’s gold in the 100m Hurdles and Martin Manley’s gold in the 400m, Hyde lived up to the expectations and ran a superb final to clock the second-fastest time ever by a youth athlete, only one hundredth of a second off Wilhem Belocian’s World youth best.
Hyde had given hints of what was to come when running supreme in the third semi-final earlier in the afternoon; running very conservatively, he clocked a world youth-leading 13.22 to respond to the USA’s Marlon Humphrey’s own 13.28 world youth lead minutes previously in winning the second semi-final.
As expected the final was a race between the two teenagers and although Humphrey held on for the first half, Hyde’s superior speed over and in between the hurdles was no match. Hyde broke away from hurdle seven and dipped to the line a clear winner.
In second, Humphrey improved his own personal best to 13.24 to jump into fifth on the all-time world youth lists ahead of 2003 World youth and 2011 World senior champion Jason Richardson among others.
Chinese sprinters keep impressing here in Donetsk and added to their medal tally as Lu Yang improved his personal best to 13.33 to claim bronze. The obvious comparison draws to former World record-holder Liu Xiang who did not compete in the 110m Hurdles until his junior years and still holds the World junior record at 13.12 (over higher hurdles).
China is now second on the medal table with two gold, two silver and two bronze.
