Britain’s Jake O’Day-Jordan won 200m bronze as England team-mate Innes Fitzgerald finished a good fourth in the 3000m on day four of the event in Lima.
South African sprinter Bayanda Valaza completed a golden double at the U20 World Championships in Lima on Friday (30 August) when the 18-year-old added the men’s 200m title to his 100m crown in 20.52 (-0 ,7). won earlier in the week.
The gouty 16-year-old from Australia finished strongly after the first 100m to take silver in 20.60 as Jake O’Day-Jordan took bronze for Britain’s second medal of the championships in 20.81.
For Odei-Jordan, also 16, returned from his season-winning run at the European Under-18 Championships in July but inexplicably slowed down and failed to qualify, prompting widespread criticism on social media.
A British resident in the USA said: “It feels great. I’m just young, I’ve yet to come. I got more years under my 20s, so I’ll count.
Bayanda Valaza (World Athletics)
“I was just trying to complete my race model. I didn’t want to do something bad like chasing the curves.
“I just did what my coach wanted me to do and execute. I did what I could, but I gave away the last 50 million, so I just have to work on it.”
In the women’s 200m, British Virgin Islands’ Adaeja Hodge won in 22.74 (0.0) from Australia’s Tori Lewis, while Great Britain’s Renee Regis was sixth in 23.38.
Innes Fitzgerald came close to winning another medal for Britain, but the Devon teenager finished fourth in the women’s 3000m in a PB of 8:57.01.
The 18-year-old was in touch with the leaders up to 300m, but Ethiopia’s Aleshin Baweke won in 8:50.32 ahead of Kenya’s Marion Jepnegetich, with Ethiopia’s Marta Alemayo third.
Alešig Baveke (World Athletics)
GB team-mate Jess Bailey is also eighth with a PB of 9:06.92.
“The overwhelming feeling is that I’m happy,” Fitzgerald said. “Obviously there’s that part of me that’s gutted because I was so close.
“I was putting quite a bit of pressure on myself because I wanted my coach to be proud and everyone back home and they’re going to be proud of me no matter what.
“I’m glad I fought for a medal and didn’t just give up. I wanted to get up there and I knew I had to be there at the bell. In the last 100 meters I didn’t have much legs, but I fought and fought and came fourth, which I’m happy with.”
After a slow race in the early stages, Bailey said: “I thought our tactic was going into it, I knew what I had to do when I had to do it. The moment they pushed forward I knew I had to be there but I think especially after the heat yesterday I just didn’t have it in my legs.
“I really enjoyed it. Peru is not a place I’ve been before. I’ve brought the club’s Paddington Bear, he’s been on a little trip to Peru, and I’m going to give it back to the kids at the club. It’s part of inspiring the next generation.”
Ja’Kobe Tharp (World Athletics)
Elsewhere, Ja’Koby Tharpe impressed in the men’s 110m hurdles when she clocked an American record of 13.05 (-0.5) and won gold as Jamaica’s Carricka Hill successfully defended her women’s 100m hurdles title, winning in 12.99 (- 0.3) in time.
The long-awaited women’s 800m was won by Sarah Mora, cousin of world senior champion Mary Mora, after a lead performance in 2:00.36.
Sarah Mora (world athletics)
The rounds saw a British under-20 record in the men’s 400m hurdles as Sam Lunt clocked 50.00 to beat Alastair Chalmers’ best of 50.07.
Tomas Jarvinen of the Czech Republic won the decathlon with a championship record of 8425, while another decathlete, Roko Farkas of Croatia, won the long jump with 8.17m (2.4).
Thomas Jarvinen (World Athletics)
Järvinen was 10 points shy of Niklas Kaul’s under-20 world record and finished second in the all-time world under-20 rankings.
Rocco Farkas (World Athletics)
Meanwhile, the women’s javelin saw China’s Yang Ziyi win by almost nine meters with 63.05m.
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