Jamaica managed just two bronze medals on a tough first day of the 19th PanAmerican Under 20 track and field championships at Estadio Chan Chan in Trujillo, Peru, yesterday, with long jumper Tissanna Hickling and discus thrower Kevin Nedrick both placing third.

Despite eight athletes advancing to their respective finals from the morning session, it was a long afternoon for the Jamaicans who just missed medalling in at least four other events.

The biggest shock came in the men’s discus throw where world leader Roje Stona could only manage fourth place with a best throw of 58.63m, well below his season and personal best 66.41m.

Nedrick, the national junior record holder in the shot put, saved face for Jamaica when he copped the bronze 58.86m, as Chile’s 17-year-old Claudio Romero won with 62.09m, beating world number-two ranked American Turner Washington 61.30m.

Hickling was also third in the girls’ long jump with a best of 6.39m, as Ecuador’s Barbara Espinosa Torres won the gold medal with 6.77m with American Tara Davis second with 6.73m.

A second Jamaican, Susan Francis was 11th with 5.95m.

Carey McLeod placed fourth in the men’s long jump with 7.65m, same as fifth-placed Jose Madros Martinez of Peru, both missing a medal by 1 centimetre as Holland Martin of The Bahamas was third in 7.66m.

American number one ranked Ja’ Mari Ward won with 7.77m and Gabriel Dos Santos Oliveira of Brasil was second with 7.73m.

Damion Creary of Jamaica was seventh with 7.01m.

Four more Jamaican athletes, including 400m hurdles favourite Nicolee Foster and men’s 200m medal favourite Christopher Taylor, will make their first appearance in the championships in the lone session today, starting at just after 8:00am and running through just 2:00pm.

The heats of both sprint relays are scheduled for today as well as the female triple jump and the men’s 400m hurdles.

Hickling, fresh from the long jump yesterday, will return for the triple jump today.

Taylor is the only Jamaican entrant in the 200m, while Patrice Moody and Kashieka Cameron will take part in the female half-lap race.

Timor Barrett and Jauavney James will contest the men’s 400m hurdles, and all the finals will take place today as well.

Yesterday Akeem Colley qualified for the finals of both the 1500m and 800m, running both semi-finals yesterday, and will go after his first medal today in the two-lap race.

In the second session, yesterday, Colley ran 1 minute 50.78 seconds for second in his semi-finals behind American Cameron Cooper- 1:50.00 minutes.

In the first session, he ran 3 minutes 56.69 seconds for fifth in his semi-finals, and will contest the final on Sunday’s last day of competition, but Shemar Salmon failed to advance after running 4 minutes 23.05 seconds.

After qualifying with the fastest time from the semi-finals, Damion Thomas was fourth in the 110m hurdles in 13.59 seconds (-0.6m/s), as the USA’s Eric Edwards won with 13.33 seconds, with Canada’s Ansatasios Eliopoulos taking the silver medal in 13.36 seconds. Another American, Joseph Anderson placed third with 13.43 seconds.

The other Jamaican, Phillip Lemonious was sixth in 13.69 seconds. Amoi Brown was also fourth in the 100m hurdles final in 13.52 seconds (0.4m/s), and Janeek Brown eighth in 13.99 seconds as Americans Tia Jones — 13.01 second and Tara Davis — 13.05 seconds took the gold and silver, with Ecuador’s Maribel V Caicedo Vernaza third with 13.41 seconds.

Anthony Carpenter just missed a medal in the men’s 400m, finishing fourth in 46.92 seconds as Jamal Walton of the Cayman Islands smashed the Championships Record by running a World Under-20 — leading National Junior Record and personal best 44.99 seconds, 16th best of all time.

Kimorlie Muschette was seventh in the female 400m in 55.72 seconds, as Cuba’s Roxana Gomez Calderon won in 51.46 seconds.

Aneka Brissett was fifth in the 100m in 11.78 seconds (-0.3m/s) as Trinidad and Tobago’s Khalifa St Forte won in 11.32 seconds.

Cameron failed to advance in the 100m after she placed fourth in the other semi-final in 12.06 seconds while both male sprinters Christopher Grant and Ashanie Smith failed to advance past the first round.

— Paul Reid