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The top athletes under 20 years old compete for a world championship at Grosseto Italy.

Day 2 Wednesday July 14

text by Jim Spier - pix by Joy Kamani - PhotoRun pix page

Morning
Jenny Green
makes PV finals on borrowed poles. Kerron Clement 50.10 and Brandon Johnson 50.11 breeze in 400H prelims; defending champ Louis Van Zyl RSA 51.30 is caught by Lismet Yasser CUB 51.27.

Afternoon
US is 1-2 in both 100m finals with Ashley Owens 11.13, Jasmine Baldwin 11.34, Ivory Williams 10.29 and Demi Omole 10.31. Owens ties for US#2 all time high school mark. Lashawn Merritt passes a test, 45.84 to 45.99.

Ashley Owens - photo by Joy Kamani
Women 100m final - photo by PhotoRun
Mens 100m final - - photo by Joy Kamani
Lashawn Merritt - photo by Joy Kamani
Kyle Alcorn clears water barrier in men's steeple. PhotoRun pix page
  • W 100 final - Ashley Owens CO 11.13 +1.5 and Jasmine Baldwin CA 11.34 sweep 1-2 for the US. Owens moved up from 6th (11.20 at the Great Southwest) to a tie for second on the all time US list (Chandra Cheeseborough FL 1976), just two hundredths behind the national record (11.11 by Angela Williams CA in 1998 ).
  • M 100 final - Another 1-2 USA sweep with Beaumont TX Central sr Ivory Williams TX 10.29 +1.0 and U. Wisconsin freshman Demi Omole 10.31.
  • M 400 semi - Lashawn Merritt VA, US#1 high schooler this year, "wins the test of his competitive life, running against someone who actually has a better PR than him," says Jim Spier. Merritt 45.84, Abubakr Nagmeldin Ali SUD 45.99. "It will be quite a final!" Spier notes. Keith Hinnant NY 46.93 is third in a different heat and advances to finals as well.
  • W 400 semi - Natasha Hastings (A.P. Randolph NY) 53.50 is fastest of semis, with Ashlee Kidd (Georgia Tech) 53.93 third in same heat and advancing to finals. Other semi is won by Soldatova Olga RUS 53.56.
  • W 400H - Katya Kostetskaya (Russia and Jonesboro AR) 56.84 and Penn Relays champ Nicole Leach (West Catholic Philadelphia PA) 57.98 win semifinal heats.
  • M 800 semi - Tim Harris FL 1:50.97 is 7th in heat and fails to make the finals.
  • W 800 semi - Latavia Thomas PA 2:09.11 is last in her heat and misses final.

Day 2 Afternoon Session

Women

100m Final

This was Ashley Owens at her best. The U of Nevada-bound recent graduate (Liberty, Colorado Springs, CO), got off to a fast start (.142 seconds) and sped quickly to the lead, winning in 11.13, a world junior leader and equal #2 all time for high schoolers. As good as Owens was at starting, Jasmine Baldwin is at the opposite end of the spectrum. Her reaction time was second slowest (the last place finisher was the only one in the field slower), but her last 40 meters of acceleration brought her from fourth to second, running 11.34, only .01 off her personal best. That was good enough for the silver medal. The best starter, Sally Mc Clellan ( Australia, .139 reaction time), the 2003 World Youth 100m hurdles champion, was third in a personal best of 11.40.

400m - Semifinals

Race 1 - Xiaoyin Tang ( China) took the early lead with the clear lead through 200 meters. Sonita Sutherland ( Jamaica) and Abigail David ( Trinidad) challenged at that point, with Sutherland maintaining a slight lead with 80 meters to go. Olga Soldatova of Russia charged from the center of the track to get the win, running 53.56, with Tang coming back to get second in 53.61 and Annemarie Schulte (Germany) third in 53.93. Sutherland hang on for fourth and the final qualifying spot, running 54.19.

Race 2 - Ashlee Kidd (Georgia Tech; St. Petersburg HS - FL '03) held the early lead for about 150 meters. At that point Natasha Hastings (AP Randolph, New York, NY) took over and "never looked back". She won easily in 53.50 with Asami Tanno ( Japan) separting Hastings in Kidd for second. Tanno ran 53.83 and Kidd .1 behind. Liliya Pilyuhina of Ukraine came up into fourth for the final qualifying position, running 54.04.

800m - Semifinals

Race 1 - Binnaz Uslu led from start to finish, passing the intermediate points at 29.12, 60.05, and 1:30.85, and holding on to win 2:02.85, setting her nation's junior record. Mariya Shapaeva of Russia got a PB (2:03.15) in finishing second. Latavia Thomas (West Catholic, Philadelphia, PA) maintaining third through 400 meters, began to fade at that point and finished poorly, running 2:09.11 for last.

Race 2 - The Kenyan Lydia Nasimiyu Wafula set the race up, leading at 200m (28.84), 400m (61.31) and 600m (1:33.96), with Belarussian Natalya Koreyvo on her shoulder. At the top of the final turn, Koreyvo took the lead and was followed by a half dozen runners, all passing Wafula. Halima Hachlaf snuck up on Koreyvo's inside and got the win, with both she and Koreyvo running 2:06.78.

400m Hurdle - Semifinals

Race 1 - What a pleasure to see Katya Kostetskaya again (a.k.a. Ekaterina Kostetskaya). She easily won her heat in 56.84, running from lane 8. She had been enrolled in Jonesboro, AR in 2003, winning the 800 meters at the adidas Outdoor Championships in June of that year. She spent a small part of this past school year there as well, before finishing her schooling in Russia. She will be a freshman at Texas State in the fall. Christina Smith (Clemson) was never in the "mix" and could manage only 60.42 for fifth.

Race 2 - Though she had a bit of trouble with hurdle 5, Nicole Leach (West Catholic HS, Philadelphia, PA) had the race totally under control and appears to be in contention for a medal. She won the race in 57.98, with Tatyana Azarova of Kazahkstan second in 58.36.

Race 3 - Athletes in lanes 1 and 7 battled it out for the win. Yu He ( China), in lane 1, had the lead for most of the race and eventually won in 58.12. Out in lane 7, Angela Morasanu of Romania kept pace and came up fast for second, running 58.30.

Discus Final

Xuejun Ma of China threw 189-9 in round 1 and was never bested. After some place changes Nadine Muller of Germany moved into second on her final throw, tossing the disc 187-5. Two throwers later, in the penultimate throw of the competition, Darya Pishchalnikova of Russia threw 188-2 to grab the silver, moving Muller into third. Melissa Faubus had a decent day, finishing eighth with a throw of 159-2. The medallists:

Xuejun Ma China 189-9
Darya Pishchalnikova Russia 188-2
Nadine Muller Germany 187-5

Hammer Final

A big day for the home crowd as the Italian Laura Gibilisco got the bronze medal. The winner, Mariya Smolyachikova of Belarus got the meet record of 219-2. Here are the top 3:

Mariya Smolyachikova Belarus 219-2
Youyu Yang China 202-4
Laura Gibilisco Italy 199-11

Men

100m Final

Some might have thought Demi Omole was a lock for this, but many of the insiders said not to discount Ivory Williams. While Omole, in lane 4, was busy holding off Yahya Al-Gahes ( Saudi Arabia) next to him in lane 3 through 60 meters, Williams was accelerating nicely in lane 6, out of the view of Omole and Al-Gahes. It was Williams, the best starter in this field (.140 seconds), victorious at the end in 10.29, a seasonal best. He barely edged Omole (10.31), with Al-Gahes fading to fifth and Jamaican Renaldo Rose coming up fast and taking the bronze in 10.34.

400m - Semifinals

Race 1 - La Shawn Merritt (Wilson HS, Portsmouth, VA - E Carolina U - bound) had perhaps the test of his competitive life, running against someone who actually has a better PR than him. That would be Nagmeldin Ali Abubakr, with a best of 45.22. Merritt took the lead from lane 3, with Abubakr in lane 7. In a battle of pride, Abubakr made a move coming down the homestretch, but Merritt was not about to be beaten, Merritt pulled away over the last 15 meters, taking Abubakr 45.84 to 45.99. It will be some final!

Race 2 - Keith Hinnant (Bay Shore, NY - U of S Carolina-bound) proved that he deserved to be on this team, finishing third (46.93) and qualifying for the final on time. It was a three-way battle in this race between Hinnant, the ultimate winner Obakeng Ngwigwa ( Botswana - 46.64 - National Junior Record) and Sean Wroe of Australia (46.80 for second and a personal best).

Race 3 - A strapping Russian, Valentin Kruglyakov, took the lead early and never relinquished it, winning in 46.46. Serdar Tamac ( Turkey) got his nation's national junior record, running 46.94 in second.

800m - Semifinals

Race 1 - The South American silver medallist, Davide Kleberson of Brazil, set the pace with a 24.82 200m and 53.72 400m lead. Just at 600m (1:22.03), Thomas Matthys of Belgium passed and maintained the lead until 700m. At that point Selahattin Cobanoglu passed him and never looked back, winning the heat in 1:49.70. Bocar Kane of France passed Elijah Kiprono Boit of Kenya in the last 10 meters to take second in 1:49.86, with Boit .12 behind.

Race 2 - Surprise, surprise. Timothy Harris is in the semifinals! Somehow, we understood yesterday that he wasn't in the mix. He led at 200 meters (25.43) and almost through 400m (led by Diego Chargal Gomes of Brazil at 54.11). He stayed in third until just after 600m (with Gomes still leading at 1:22.83). Then the charge began, and suddenly Harris was in the back of the pack. He finished second to last in 1:50.97. The winner was Alfred Kirwa Yego of Kenya in 1:49.02.

 

10000m Final

A great battle between Boniface Kiprop of Uganda and Fabiano Joseph of Tanzania. In fact, it came down to a sprint at the end, with Kiprop the victor, running 28:03.77 to Joseph's 28:04.45. Both were seasonal bests. Third was Ryuji Ono of Japan, well back in 28:30.45. James Hower of the US finished in about 29:20, but it was quite obvious that he was a lap short, so he gets credited with a "DNF". The other American, Keith Bechtol, did not have a good day, finishing 19th and running 31:45.99.

Long Jump Final

What a great competition! After the first round, it was the Italian Andrew Howe the leader at 26-0.75, followed by Godfrey Khotso Mokoena of South Africa at 25-7.25 and John Thornell of Australia at 25-3.5. Mokoena moved into first in round 3, jumping 26-2.75, and improved his lead in round 4 at 26-3, then again at 26-6.5. But Italy's favorite son, Howe, eclipsed Mokoena with a jump of 26-7.25 in round 5 and held it through round 6, though Mokoena came close with a jump of 26-5.5 in the final round. Here are the medallists:

Andrew Howe Italy 26-7.25
Godfrey Khotso Mokoena South Africa 26-6.5
John Thornell Australia 25-10.75

 

Decathlon - Day 1

Here are the leaders after day 1:

Andrei Krauchanka Belarus 4341
100m 11.09
LJ 24-5.75
SP 47-7.25
HJ 7-1
400m 48.98

Norman Muller Germany 4200
Aleksey Sysoyev Russia 4163
Andres Silva Uruguay 4115
Pelle Rietveld Netherlands 4047

Jangy Addy ( Tennessee; Norcross, GA HS '03) had a decent first day, scoring 3874 points (11.21; 20-10; 50-0.5; 6-2.25; 48.47). Teammate Chris Helwick ( Tennessee; Greeley, CO HS '03) is back in 19th with 3579 points (11.61; 21-5.25; 39-11.25; 6-4.75; 50.99).

 


Day 2 Morning

Women

Pole Vault - Qualifying

The automatic qualifying mark is 13-3.5 (or the top 12). Stevie Marshalak (Washington), cleared the opening height of 11-9.75 on her second attempt and went out at 12-3.5. Jenny Green (Nebraska) who, as of last night, had still not received her poles which were shipped 10 days ago, had rough going at the beginning of the competition, passed at 11-9.75, then made 12-3.5 on her third attempt. Getting into the rhythm, she cleared 12-7.5 on her first attempt. However, using someone else's poles, she could not clear 12-11.5. The 12-7.5 clearance was enough to make it to the finals, as 8 athletes cleared 12-11.5 and another 4 (Green included) cleared 12-7.5 and had a minimum of misses.

Men

400m Hurdles - Round 1

Race 1 - The defending World Champion, Louis Van Zyl of South Africa ran a great race, only to be caught at the finish by Yasser Lismet of Cuba (the top 3 advance automatically to the semi-finals). It was Lismet's 51.27 to Van Zyl's 51.30, with Michael Bultheel of Belgium closing fast to take third in 51.46, .01 ahead of the Italian Nicola Cascella.

Race 2 - Like his South African countryman, Wouter le Roux is a defending World Champion. He won the World Youth Championships last year and came in with a sub-50.0 time. But the race was won easily by defending Asian champion Ibrahim Al-Hamaidi of Saudi Arabia who jogged across the finish line in 50.02. le Roux was second in 51.12, and the Finn Teemu Linkosaari third in 51.56.

Race 3 - A race totally under control for Kerron Clement (Florida). He led from the start and eased to a 50.10 victory. Richard Davenport of Great Britain was well back, but ran a creditable 51.08.

Race 4 - Out fast, UCLA soph Brandon Johnson controlled his race totally, building up a lead of half a hurdle length halfway through the race. His 50.11 was almost 2 seconds ahead of second-placer Victor Solarte of Venzuela (51.96).

3000m Steeplechase - Semifinals

Race 1 - The Kenyans "own" this event, having won each World Junior Championships' steeplechase except for the inaugural event in 1986. The top 3 qualify for the finals so Nathan Kibet Naibei of Kenya, who finished second in 8:47.98 to Qatar's Moustafa Ahmed Shebto (8:47.70) , will try to keep the tradition alive. Derek Scott (Cornerstone) was never in the race and ran ninth at 9:22.34, about 20 seconds off his best.

Race 2 - In a race full of surges (and non-surges), another Qatarian, Obaid Musa Amer got the win (8:52.90). Kyle Alcorn (Oregon), stuck in the middle of the pack most of the race, made a big move over the last lap and a half to move from 9th to 5th, putting himself "on the bubble" to advance by time. His 8:55.02 time was just short of his PB.

Race 3 - The pace was much faster here, and the American Alcorn moved out of the possibility of advancing by time. It was the fastest race of the 3, with Ronald Kipchumba Rutto of Kenya winning in 8:35.51. Two of the three time advancers came from this heat.

Javelin - Qualifying

Group A - Three qualified automatically here, having thrown better than the qualifying standard of 225-1. The are:

Lohan Rautenbach South Africa 241-5
Joshua Robinson Australia 235-11
Julio Cesar De Oliveira Brazil 230-10

American Brian Harris (Washington) could manage only 200-10, for 11th in this group.

Group B - Two automatically qualified from this group:

Aleksey Tovarnov Russia 241-11
Yervasios Filippidis Greece 231-7

Andrew Vogelsburg (Emporia State) was 12th at 198-10.

 

World Junior Championships index page

 


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