TAMPERE, Finland — Jamaican athletes lit up a gloomy afternoon at the Tampere stadium here in Finland, winning two gold medals and a silver within half an hour to end the third day of the IAAF World Under-20 Championships.

Damion Thomas and Orlando Bennett became only the third team members to land gold and silver in the men’s 110m hurdles, while 16-year-old Briana Williams became Jamaica’s first women’s 100m champion since Veronica Campbell Brown in 2000 in Chile, two years before Williams was born.

Thomas, the joint World Junior Record holder won the hurdles race in 13.16 seconds, while Bennett was second in 13.33 seconds, joining the Great Britain pair of Colin Jackson and Jon Ridgeon in 1986 and the American pair of Marcus Krah and Amere Lattin two years ago in Poland as teammates to win both gold and silver in the event.

Williams used her bullet start to win in 11.16 seconds, holding off the American Twanisha Terry who had set a Championship Record 11.03 seconds in the semis finals.

She is the third Jamaican to win the event as Nikole Mitchell also won in 1992.

Jamaica is now joined second in the medal tables with Japan on two gold, a silver and one bronze as Kenya leads with three gold and a bronze.

Paul Reid