World U20 Championships Updates From Day 1: Mixed 4x400 And 5K Finals

The World Under-20 Championships begin in Lima, Peru on Tuesday and run through Saturday. We'll have live updates and reactions following each event.

Aug 27, 2024 by Cory Mull

World U20 Championships Updates From Day 1: Mixed 4x400 And 5K Finals

Tuesday marked the opening of another major championship on the track and field calendar.

Get ready for the World U20 Championships.

The bi-annual event is headed our way for the next five days. Held in Lima, Peru, the world's top under-20 contingents will battle for hardware inside the Videna Athletic Stadium in Lima, Peru.

Initially, the United States was not going to send a team to Peru due to world travel advisories -- the U.S. Department of State lists Peru at Level 2, urging visitors to "Exercise Increased Caution" -- but after backlash and consideration, the USATF changed its mind and moved ahead.

Stay tuned on FloTrack as we track the top events and athletes this week.

Women's U20 100m Heats

Fresh off her appearance at the Paris Olympics, where she qualified to the semifinals, British Virgin Islands' Adaejah Hodge led things off, taking the first section in 11.45.

That would end up being the fastest time of the day and one of just three times under 11.50.

Jamaica's Alana Reid won the fifth heat in 11.46, while Great Britain's Nia Wedderburn-Goodison clocked a time of 11.47 in the sixth section.

Americans Taylor Snaer and Avery Lewis advanced to the next rounds with performances of 11.58 and 11.85, respectively.

Men's U20 100m Heats

Japanese sprinter Noaki Nishioka was one of two men timing in at 10.27 over the rounds, joining South Africa's Bradley Nkoana, won won the seventh section. Nishioka won the eighth frame.

South Africa will be represented well in the semifinals, as Nkoana's teammates, Bayanda Walaza, scorched in the second heat for a time of 10.28.

American Brayden Williams managed a new PR, moving through to the semifinals in the seventh round for a time of 10.32, but the day left Jaden Wiley, who was unable to advance after finishing third in the fourth section in 10.59.

Mixed Relay Rounds

If we were to predict how the first round would reveal the final, then Australia's and Poland's group did the most to underline their potential, with the countries scoring wins in heat one and three in times of 3:21.10 and 3:21.92.

Australia ran past India and Romania in the first frame by over a second, while Poland was just over two seconds better than Norway in the third.

Women's U20 Long Jump

Spain's Laura Martínez dropped a new season-best over the round, securing her trip to the final with an outlay of 6.37 meters.

That was nearly a centimeter better than anyone else, with Nigeria's Prestina Oluchi Ochonogor following with a mark of 6.28m.

American Sophia Beckmon, a freshman at the University of Illinois, secured her spot in the finals with a mark of 6.16m, but her U.S. counterpart, Alexandria Johnson, missed the cut in the second group with an end mark of 5.75m.

Men's U20 800m

A measured first round saw the top time come in the fourth section, with Tunisia's Mohamed Karim Amri clocking a winning effort of 1:49.21.

He led two more under 1:50, while a total of seven men went under that number to qualify for the next round. Americans Daniel Watcke and Michael Long both pushed through to the next round, with Long -- the NAIA athlete and U.S. U20 winner from Ave Maria -- winning the fifth heat in 1:50.53.

Men's U20 Long Jump

Americans Sterling Scott and Karson Gordon cruised through to the finals in the triple jumpafter big performances on Tuesday in the first round.

Scott solidified his position with a 16.29 meter mark in second group, winning the overall section, while Gordon was second overall in the first group, logging a mark of 16.19m.

EVENING SESSION

Women's U20 5K Final

In a blazing fast final, two women from Ethiopia battled it out for supremacy in the front.

The 19-year-old Medina Eisa, seventh in the Olympic final on August 5, secured the title with a time of 14:39.71, improving her performance of 14:35.43 in Paris.

She was followed by Mekedes Alemeshete, who ran 14:57.44, while Uganda's Charity Cherop was third in 15:25.02. Only Eisa and Alemeshete were under 15 minutes.

The American contingent featured Arianne Olson and Zariel Macchia, with Olson landing in 10th place in 16:19.23, while Maccia was 18th in 17:12.33.

Men's U20 5K Final

It was an incredible finish in the men's race, as four athletes all clocked in under 13:42 and the top three were within six-tenths of one another.

In the end it was Kenya's Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi, who won with a time of 13:41.14, but he was followed by a wisp later in 13:41.56 by the likes of Abdisa Fayisa of Ethiopia and Keneth Kiprop of Uganda, who was third in 13:41.73.

A total of nine men broke 14 minutes at the tape, ushering in one of the fastest U20 finals in recent memory.

No American reached the final.

Men's U20 Shot Put

It was a near identical fight at the top of the leaderboard here for the gold, as Netherlands' Jarno Van Daalen escaped South Africa's JL Van Rensburg by a mere two millimeters with a winning throw of 20.76 meters.

Both men finished with personal best marks with the finish.

Germany's Georg Harpf was third with a mark of 20.28m.

The U.S.'s Tyler Michelini was seventh in 19.64m.

Mixed U20 4x400 Final

Australia will bring back a gold for the Oceanic region, as the Aussies clocked a winning time of 3:19.27.

That marked a new under-20 record the country and the winning lineup consisted of Jordan Gilbert, Bella Pasquali, Jack Deguara and Sophia Gregorevic.

The Aussies took two seconds off their preliminary time that same morning, as the group went 3:21.10 in the opening round.

The U.S. did not feature a team during the mixed relay.

Poland was second in 3:20.44, while China was third in 3:21.27.

Men's And Women's U20 100m Semifinals

Making way for the final on Wednesday were the semis.

The women cranked up the intensity over the second round, with four women under 11.50, including Jamaican Alana Reid (11.44) and Barbados' Kishawna Niles (11.39) and Great Britain's Nia Wedderburn-Goodison (11.39).

Adaejah Hodge, the Montverde Academy graduate and Georgia recruit, slipped into the final but finished second in her third heat, clocking a time of 11.59. That was the slowest automatic qualifier into the final on Tuesday.

The American duo of Avery Lewis and Taylor Snaer did not advance.

On the men's side, it took sub-10.40 to get to the final -- outside of one exception.

Thailand's Puripol Boonson and South Africa's Bradley Nkoana look like the favorites after clocking times of 10.30 in the semifinals.

The lone American in the semifinals, Brayden Williams, did not advance after a performance of 10.46.

FloTrack Is The Streaming Home For Many Track And Field Meets Each Year

Don’t miss all the track and field season action streaming on FloTrack. Check out the FloTrack schedule for more events.

FloTrack Archived Footage

Video footage from each event will be archived and stored in a video library for FloTrack subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscriptions.