Britain’s Jake Odey-Jordan wins 200m bronze as team-mate Innes FitzGerald is a fine fourth in the 3000m on day four of the event in Lima
South African sprinter Bayanda Walaza completed a golden double at the World Under-20 Championships in Lima, Peru, on Friday (Aug 30) when the 18-year-old added the men’s 200m title in 20.52 (-0.7) to the 100m crown he won earlier in the week.
Australian 16-year-old Gout Gout finished strongly after a poor first 100m to take silver in 20.60 as Jake Odey-Jordan won Britain’s second medal of the championships with bronze in 20.81.
For Odey-Jordan, who is also 16, bounced back from his run at the European Under-18 Championships in July when he was winning his heat but inexplicably slowed down and failed to qualify, leading to widespread criticism on social media.
The US-based Brit said: “It feels great. I am just young, I have more to come. I got more years of being in under-20s so I will make it count.
Bayanda Walaza (World Athletics)
“I was just trying to complete my race model. I didn’t want to do something bad like chase on the curve.
“I just did what my coach wanted me to do and execute. I did what I could but the last 50m I gave out so I just have to work on it.”
In the women’s 200m, Adaeja Hodge of British Virgin Islands won in 22.74 (0.0) from Australia’s Torrie Lewis as Britain’s Renee Regis was a fine sixth in 23.38.
Innes FitzGerald came close to winning another medal for Britain but the teenager from Devon finished fourth in the women’s 3000m in a PB of 8:57.01.
The 18-year-old was in touch with the leaders with 300m to go but Aleshign Baweke of Ethiopia kicked away to win in 8:50.32 from Marion Jepnegetich of Kenya with Marta Alemayo of Ethiopia third.
Aleshign Baweke (World Athletics)
GB team-mate Jess Bailey also ran a PB of 9:06.92 in eighth.
“The overwhelming feeling is I am happy,” said FitzGerald. “There is obviously that bit of me that is gutted because I was so close.
“I put quite a lot of pressure on myself because I wanted to do my coach proud and everyone back at home and they will be proud of me whatever.
“I am glad I was racing for a medal and I didn’t just sit back. I wanted to get up there and I knew I had to be there at the bell. I didn’t quite have the legs in the last 100m but I fought and fought and came away with fourth which I am pleased with.”
After a race which was slow in the early stages, Bailey said: “I thought our tactics going into it were bob on, I knew what I needed to do, when I needed to do it. At the point when they pushed on, I knew I needed to be there but I think especially after the heats yesterday I just didn’t have it in my legs.
“I have really enjoyed it. Peru is not somewhere I have ever been before. I have brought the club’s Paddington Bear, he has been on a little tour of Peru and I will give it back to the kids at the club. It is part of inspiring the next generation.”
Ja’Kobe Tharp (World Athletics)
Elsewhere, Ja’Kobe Tharp impressed in the men’s 110m hurdles when he clocked an American record of 13.05 (-0.5) to win gold as Kerrica Hill of Jamaica successfully defended her women’s 100m hurdles title by winning in 12.99 (-0.3).
The much-anticipated women’s 800m saw Sara Moraa, the cousin of world senior champion Mary Moraa, win after a front-running performance in 2:00.36.
Sarah Moraa (World Athletics)
In the rounds there was 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.
Czechia’s Tomas Jarvinen won the decathlon with a championship record of 8425 whereas another decathlete, Roko Farkas of Croatia, won the long jump with 8.17m (2.4).
Tomas Jarvinen (World Athletics)
Jarvinen was 10 points short of Niklas Kaul’s world under-20 record and he moved to second on the world under-20 all-time rankings.
Roko Farkas (World Athletics)
The women’s javelin, meanwhile, saw China’s Yan Ziyi winning by almost nine metres with 63.05m with Britain’s Ayesha Jones ninth with 49.37m after earlier throwing a PB of 51.78m in qualifying.
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