J’can Kerrica Hill among nominees for World Athletics award
Jamaica’s World Under-20 champion Kerrica Hill is one of five nominees for the World Athletics Female Rising Star award, it was announced on Tuesday by World Athletics.
The 17-year-old Hill set a Championship record 12.77 seconds to win the 100m hurdles gold at the World Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia, in August, and also was part of the Jamaica team that lowered their own world record in the women’s 4x100m, running 42.59 seconds.
The former Hydel High standout, who signed a professional contract earlier this year and will be working out with the Reynaldo Walcott-led Elite Performance Track Club, led both the Under-18 and Under-20 categories in the 100m hurdles for the 2022 season.
The nominations “reflect the many standout performances that the sport has witnessed this year, at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, the World Athletics Championships Oregon22 and other events around the world,” a release from World Athletics said.
The other nominees are Kenyans Jackline Chepkoech, the Commonwealth Games 3,000m steeplechase champion and Brussels Diamond League winner, and Faith Cherotich, the World Under-20 3,000m steeplechase champion and Diamond League final third place; South Africa’s Mine De Klerk, the World Under-20 shot put champion and discus throw bronze medal winner who owns seven of the world’s top-10 Under-20 shot put performances; and Serbia’s Adriana Vilagos, the World Under-20 javelin throw champion and European javelin throw silver medallist who has the best 11 Under-20 performances of the year.
The winner of the 2022 Women’s Rising Star Award will be selected by an international panel of experts and be announced on World Athletics’ social media platforms in early December, the release also said.