Amidzovski Wins History-Making Long Jump Gold as Raikiwasa Launches to Discus Bronze at World Under 20 Championships
Published Thu 29 Aug 2024
Australia’s Delta Amidzovski has leapt into the history books at the 2024 World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Lima, securing gold and the nation’s first global women’s long jump medal at the Under 20 level or above, while Marley Raikiwasa launched to bronze in the Discus Throw on Day Two.
Rising to stardom after shattering Sally Pearson’s Under 18 record in the 100m Hurdles last year, Amidzovski (NSW, Becky Amidzovski & Roger Fabri) stamped her credentials as a long jumper on the world stage – leaping 6.58m (+0.7) to upset her international rivals.
“My coach told me to look for Jesus and run through the board. I was just thinking if they go out and jump, why can’t I jump? We are all human and we can all do it. It was just another fun jump and another great jump,” Amidzovski said.
“It’s not much like me to share emotion but I think tomorrow at the medal ceremony, I might shed a tear. I hope I do; I deserve it.”
Entering the competition with a 6.37m personal best, Amidzovski had the field under pressure after the second round with a 6.49m jump, before Sophia Beckmon (USA) took the lead in round five with 6.54m.
Amidzovski reclaimed the top spot immediately with 6.58m, now preparing for tomorrow’s 100m Hurdles heats and semi-finals.
“I have always grown up doing both the hurdles and long jump, so I have been able to switch on and off. Long jump has always been my ‘fun’ event, I don’t have as much pressure in it and that helped me going out there today,” Amidzovski said.
Marley Raikiwasa (SA, Patrick Ebel) joined the Australian party to add Discus Throw bronze with a 56.25m effort, landing on the podium behind Chinese athletes Bingyuang Han (57.57m) and Jingru Huang (56.47m).
Establishing herself in the medals in the second round with a throw of 54.92m, the Auburn University product cemented her status as a World Under 20 Championships medallist in the fifth round with 56.25m – extending her buffer on the remainder of the field.
“To come away with a medal is unreal! There are so many fierce competitors and so many girls that I dreamed about competing against – the feeling is amazing,” Raikiwasa said.
“My confidence is credited to a lot of people. My parents, my coaches, friends and family back home and in America. My confidence is not just me, it’s everyone around me lifting me up.”
A valiant fight from Mia Scerri (VIC, Rob Stevens & Ralph Newton) over two days saw her land in fourth place of the Heptathlon, falling an agonising 51-points shy of the bronze medal on 5550 points despite being ranked 13th entering the competition.
Posting her most competitive scores in the Long Jump (6.01m), Shot Put (13.81m) and High Jump (1.75m), the versatile teenager could only be relegated from the bronze medal position in the final event (800m) by Czech athlete Adela Tkacova.
Sprinter Aleksandra Stoilova (NSW, Tevin Hester) became only Australia’s second World Under 20 finalist in the Women’s 100m in 38 years, racing to eighth place in a time of 11.64 (0.0) in challenging conditions as the race was won by Jamaica’s Alana Reid in 11.17.
Teenage sensation Cameron Myers (ACT, Dick Telford) left nothing to chance in the first round of the 1500m, booking a date with Saturday’s final when running the field into the ground in Heat 3 with a performance of 3:41.42. 17-year-old Cleo Richardson (VIC, Gavin Burren) also advanced to the Women’s 1500m Final, setting a new personal best of 4:22.35.
Australia will have a 400m finalist in Lima after Terrell Thorne (QLD, Chris Dale) blitzed the first two rounds with a personal best of 46.44 in the heats, before racing to second place in the semi-final to secure one of eight lanes in the final.
2022 World Under 20 Championships bronze medallist Tiana Boras (VIC, Alwyn Jones) produced a clutch third-round jump of 12.84m to qualify for the final by two centimeters in the Women’s Triple Jump, while emerging high jumper Mitchell Hatfield (NSW, Leanne Pejkovic) held his nerve in qualifying to clear 2.09m on his third and final attempt – enough to book his ticket to the final.
The World Under 20 Championships continues tomorrow and concludes on Sunday, September 1. Australian viewers can watch it live and free on World Athletics’ Inside Track platform.
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 28/08/2024
