The crowd may not have been there, but as Cathal Dennehy witnessed, the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Lima provided ample evidence that the sport is in safe hands.
If you’re ever in doubt about the future of athletics, this event is always the perfect antidote. For many, this year’s U20 World Cup could have passed without a second glance as it was set against a backdrop of major one-day matches at a point in the season when many athletes and fans were running on fumes.
But this year’s edition, held in Lima, Peru in the last week of August, showed once again that the future of the sport is in safe hands as the Paris Olympics fade from view and attention turns to Tokyo 2025 and Los Angeles 2028.
Before we get to the positives, let’s get one negative out of the way: the crowd was lacking. Most of the week, the only people in the stands were the athletes, coaches and team staff, along with a few parents of the athletes.
This was the sixth World U20 I attended, going back to Eugene in 2014, and it had the worst turnout ever. In Budapest last year, World Athletics president Seb Coe said the sport “cannot afford to have empty stadiums” because it “makes you look marginal”, and while he was talking about senior tournaments, the principle applies at this level.
World Under-20 Championship (Oscar Munoz Badilla)
The local organizing committee did a lot of things right, but failed to properly advertise to the city’s population, all 10 million of them, that the world’s best teenage athletes were competing on their doorstep. The lack of effort to crack the seats for many finals meant that many finals were played in a funereal atmosphere. Athletes, most of whom will never perform at a higher level, deserved better.
When taking an event like this to a new location like Lima, it’s important to 1) promote it properly and 2) charge the locals little (or preferably nothing). And if it still looks like too few will be showing up in the final weeks, then engage local schools to fill those spots with students. Take free buses to the stadium. Make it a fun day. What kid wouldn’t rather watch future Olympic stars than algebra?
My lasting memory of the previous edition in Cali was the hordes of young people screaming their lungs out for any and all nations, especially Colombians. Whatever they did to make this happen should have been copied and pasted here and elsewhere.
Lima had never hosted an event of this size in a single sport, with a record 1,700 athletes from over 130 teams. And overall, it worked. Back in April, USA Track said it would not send a team, citing security as the first reason, which was as laughable then as it is now, since Peru is at the same risk level to the US State Department as France and France. Britain (and I don’t remember any talk like that before the Olympics).
Ja’Kobe Tharp (C) (Oscar Munoz Badilla)
Fortunately, the USATF realized that this and the other two reasons they listed (competition preparation and event date) weren’t really true and reversed the decision, showing the vast majority of the world’s best teenage athletes from the US and around the world. in Lima.
Anyone who follows these age group championships knows that success is likely to be repeated at the senior level, given that the athletes will soon move to the open category, where the competitive pool is much deeper and where they have to navigate many minefields. fields that can detonate themselves. potential. Many of Lima’s champions, unfortunately, will either burn out or die out. But, on the flip side, many athletes who graduate from the field will go on to win world and Olympic medals.
However, with all the usual caveats, there is no better event to showcase future stars. Great thing about the world’s under-20s getting a lot of attention. In the years to come, as these athletes scale the heights at the highest level, you may be the annoying athletic hipster who discovers them before they’re good.
Alana Reed (C) (Oscar Munoz Badilla)
Cold, wintry conditions in Lima meant times were often unwatchable, but there were still four championship records, six regional U20 records and 288 personal bests.
Making bold predictions about underage athletes is a surefire way to look foolish, but having been on the side of the road in Lima all week, I’m ready to do it.
So here, in no particular order, are the 10 athletes in the Class of 2024 who I think can step up to the top level in the years to come.
Lourdes Gloria Manuel (C) (Oscar Munoz Badilla)
Lourdes Gloria Manuel (Czech Republic)
The European under-20 champion added a world under-20 400m title with a stunning performance, edging past her peers in the final 100 meters to cap a season that saw her finish fourth at the European finals, reach the semi-finals of the Paris Olympics and take down the Czech Republic under-20s. record: 50.52. A name we’ll be hearing a lot more about in the years to come.
Ja’Kobe Tharp (USA)
The 18-year-old from Tennessee, who is a junior at Auburn University, showed why sprint hurdlers consider him the next big thing, blasting a 13.05 PB into a slight headwind (-0.5) to beat the U.S. under 20 years old record, adding. gold to his silver from this year’s NCAA Championships.
Edmund Serem (Kenya)
The Kenyan captain showed why he was given the responsibility in the men’s 3000m steeplechase final. The 8:15.28 he ran to win gold was a PB, but what impressed Serem, whose listed age is just 16, was what impressed him most was his form. He obliterated his rivals with a stroke that suggests he could be the man to bring senior track and field titles back to Kenya in the next Olympic cycle. He is also coached by Patrick Sang, who knows a thing or two about building champions.
Iosif Kesidis (Cyprus)
When all six throws are good enough for gold, you know you’re truly dominant. In the men’s hammer, 19-year-old Kesidis also set a national under-20 record of 82.80m, which took him to the world under-20 title by more than seven metres. Huge margin. A huge talent.
Thomas Jarvinen (Oscar Munoz Badilla)
Tomas Jarvinen (Czech Republic)
Those who follow the decathlon closely noted the 18-year-old’s potential back in July when Jarvinen racked up a PB of 7,461 despite failing to qualify in the pole vault at the Czech Under-20 Championships. In Lima, he made no such mistakes and announced his immense ability, scoring a remarkable 8,425 points in the cold conditions to break the championship record and just 10 points shy of Niklas Kaul’s under-20 world record.
Alana Reid (Jamaica)
Jamaica’s production line of champion sprinters was in full swing as Reid, who now trains in Florida under coach Dennis Mitchell and alongside Sha Kari Richardson, won the women’s 100m in 11.17. He then anchored Jamaica to 4x100m gold. A 10.92 athlete with his best athletes, he should go much faster in the years to come.
Angelina Tema (Serbia)
Having cleared 1.98m and won European silver in Rome earlier this year, the 19-year-old Serbian high jumper could have looked a lock for gold in Lima. But he entered with major doubts after breaking his leg while qualifying for the Olympic final in Paris. He barely trained between that event and Lima, but proved the permanence of his class, clearing 1.91m to win his first world title.
Sara Moraa (Oscar Munoz Badilla)
Sarah Moraa (Kenya)
You know the last name and the tactics, and in Lima, Sara Moraa was a lot like her more accomplished cousin, Mary. She took charge of the women’s 800m final, taking the lead after 200m, slowing the race down before winding down again to clear all her rivals and strike gold in 2:00.36.
Ziyi Yan (China)
One of the most dominant performances of the week came in the women’s javelin, where 16-year-old Ziyi Yan lived up to her favourite’s bill with a throw of 63.05m to take the gold by nearly nine metres. Nine! He set the under-20 world record of 64.28m in April. Gold in Lima may just be the beginning.
They Banda Walaza (South Africa)
Having helped his nation to an Olympic 4x100m silver medal in Paris, you’d think the season couldn’t get any better for the 18-year-old. However, in Lima, Balaza achieved 100m-200m doubles at 10.19 and 20.52 minutes. Ignore the moderate times, these were not good sprint conditions.
Crucially, Valaza, whose technique looks set to have plenty of room for improvement in the coming years, showed both immense class and composure to beat the world’s fastest under-20s over the two distances. A bright future beckons.
» This article first appeared in the October issue of AW magazine. Subscribe to AW Magazine herecheck out our new podcast! here or subscribe to our digital archive of back issues from 1945 to the present day here
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