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).
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