The Rio 2016 bound Jessica Thornton (NSW) and Australian under 20 100m record holder Jack Hale (TAS) have progressed to the semi-finals of the girl’s 400m and boy’s 100m respectively on day one of the IAAF World Under 20 Championships in Bydgoszcz (POL).
Not to be outdone, all of Darcy Roper (QLD, long jump), Shemaiah James (QLD), Kirsty Williams (QLD, discus throw), Beth Croft (NSW, 3000m steeplechase), Georgia Winkcup (NSW, 3000m steeplechase) and Matthew Ramsden (WA, 1500m) conquered their opening round appearances to ensure a start in the final round of their event.
Competition at Bydgoszcz 2016 continues this afternoon AEST, with Nicholas Andrews (NSW) and Jacob McCorry (NSW) the first athletes on track in the round one of the boy’s 110m hurdles.
For more information on the IAAF World Under 20 Championships, including the event timetable and live results, please click here.
To view and download the Australian Team Media Guide, please click here.
THORNTON PROGRESS TO 400m SEMI-FINALS
The Rio 2016 bound Jessica Thornton (NSW) made easy work of her girl’s 400m heat on day one at the IAAF World Under 20 Championships 2016 in Bydgoszcz (POL).
Thornton burst out of the blocks and setup her race on the back straight before making it down the final straight comfortably to progress automatically in second place of heat five in a time of 53.70, behind Lynna Irby (USA).
“I was so excited to just get out there and run,” Thornton said.
“Watching the rest of the Australians smash it this morning gave me more positivity and I just went out hard like I usually do and then with 150m to go I eased up and made sure I was in top three for auto qualification.”
“I just cruised it home, because the final is where it counts, I just need to get to there now.”
In the final heat of the girl’s 400m, Molly Blakey (NSW) finished seventh in a time of 55.49 and was happy just to get to the start line after an interrupted preparation.
HALE ADVANCES AFTER 100m HEAT WIN
Leading Australian junior sprinter Jack Hale (TAS) has progressed to the semi-finals of the boy’s 100m after winning heat one in a time of 10.48 (w: -0.4) on the opening day of competition at Bydgoszcz 2016.
“That felt comfortable, coming away with the win in the opening round… nothing more you can ask for,” Hale said.
While conditions have been mixed on day one, things cleared up for Hale in the opening heat.
“There was very little wind if any and it was all good, conditions are fine, it’s a quick track, so as the rounds progress there is no reason I can’t run faster.”
Teammate Trae Williams (QLD) failed to progress to the semi-finals after finishing sixth with a time of 10.70 (w: +0.6) in heat five.
ROPER, JAMES, WILLIAM, CROFT & WINKCUP AMONG AUSTRALIANS THROUGH TO FINALS
Two Australians will feature in the boy’s long jump final after Darcy Roper (QLD) and Shemaiah James (QLD) progressed from the qualifying round.
The 2015 IAAF World Youth Championships silver medallist Roper finished third in Pool ‘B’ with a leap of 7.65m (w: +0.3). James just pipped Roper with a mark of 7.67m (w: -0.7) in Pool ‘A’ to guide the pair safely into the final round tomorrow night.
“Ticking the boxes is necessary, it was a good jump from both of us,” James said.
“We just had to stick to the basics and not worry about placings or anything like that, almost treat it like a training session and get through your standard kind of jump which was the 7.70m mark, which we both fell just short of.” Roper said.
Kirsty Williams (QLD, discus throw), Beth Croft (NSW, 3000m steeplechase), Georgia Winkcup(NSW, 3000m steeplechase) and Matthew Ramsden (WA, 1500m) also progressed to the final on day one.
To read more about their performances, please click here.
At the end of day one of the boy’s decathlon Alec Diamond (NSW) sits in 19th position with 3609 points. Tomorrow he will chase points in the 110m hurdles, discus, pole vault, javelin and 1500m events.
In the first final of the championships Clara Smith (QLD) was the best of the Australians in the girl’s 10,000m walk finishing 13th in 46:59.96 ahead of Tayla-Paige Billington (Vic) who sustained an ankle injury mid-way through the race to finish in 18th with a time of 48:32.33.
KEY INFORMATION:
What: IAAF World U20 Championships 2016
Where: Zawisza Stadium, Bydgoszcz, Poland
When: Tuesday 19 to Sunday 24 July
Website: www.iaaf.org/competitions/iaaf-world-u20-championships
Social media: @AthsAust #Bydgoszcz2016
With thanks to Chris Kenner
