NAIROBI, Kenya — Sanique Walker had to settle for a silver medal in the girls 400m hurdles at the 10th IAAF World Under-18 Championships at Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya after a calamitous final hurdle.

Walker, who had the fastest time going into the final, led by a long way but hit the 10th hurdle hard, lost her rhythm and was chased down and caught on the line by South Africa’s Zeney Van der Walt.

The Jamaican clocked 58.27 seconds, 400th of a second behind the South African in the most extraordinary finish imaginable.

Meanwhile, Rovane Williams, who was a dark horse for a medal, had a disastrous race in the boys 400m hurdles final, hitting three hurdles including the second one and was never a factor, finishing seventh in 55.48 seconds.

Walker’s silver was Jamaica’s fifth medal of the championships after gold medals from Dejour Russell in the boys 110m hurdles and Antonio Watson in the boys 400m and bronze medals from Kevona Davis and Tyreke Wilson in the girls and boys 100m respectively.

Paul Reid