No medals for Jamaica at World U20 Champs Thursday
CALI, Colombia – Jamaica will be hoping for better luck on Friday’s fifth day of the World Athletics Under -20 Championships at the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia after failing to medal on Thursday despite fielding athletes in three finals.
Bryan Levell was sixth in the men’s 200m in 20.72 seconds while the two 400m finals also failed to produce a medal.
Dejeanae Oakley just missed the medals in the women’s final, finishing fifth in 52.31 seconds while Shaemar Uter was seventh in the men’s race in 46.36 seconds. Jamaica’s Delano Kennedy was disqualified after he false started.
Despite that, there were some positives on Thursday. Alexis James and Kerrica Hill both advanced to Friday’s semi-finals of the 100m hurdles after both winning their first round heats with impressive runs.
James ran a personal best 13.04 seconds (0.1m/s) to lead the qualifying while Hill, who has run a sub-13.00 seconds time this year, clocked 13.30 (0.6m/s) for the second best time.
Jamaica’s medal prospects in the women’s 200m appears to be good with Brianna Lyston leading the qualifiers for the final with 22.83 seconds (0.2m/s) with Alana Reid also through with a personal best 23.16 seconds (-0.2m/s).
Despite appearing to be limping, world leader Jaydon Hibbert needed just two tries to book his place in the men’s triple jump final with a mark of 16.37m (-0.3m/s) after fouling his first effort.
A second Jamaican, Royan Walters, also advanced with a jump of 15.29m and will be the 13th athlete that will contest the final.
J’Voughnn Blake, advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s 800m, on time, after he ran 1:48.97 seconds, for fourth place in his heat.
Adrian Nethersole was fifth in his first round heat with 1:53.91 seconds and failed to make progress.
Both 4x100m relay teams also advanced, the girls’ team of Serena Cole, Tina Clayton, Alexis James and Tia Clayton ran 43.28 seconds to lead the qualifiers, while the men’s team of Bouwahjgie Nkrumie, Adrian Kerr, Mark Anthony Daley and David Lynch, ran 39.24 seconds for second behind Japan in their first round heat.
-Paul A Reid
