Finals Fever | Momentum Builds in Cali on Day 3
Published Thu 04 Aug 2022
The medal hunt continued in Cali on Day 3 of the World Athletics Under 20 Championships, and while podium success is yet to be found, Australia’s brightest young stars stamped their presence on the international stage with four top-10 finishes.
The event matched the hype in the 110m Hurdles as Mitchell Lightfoot (Andy Burton) and Tayleb Willis (Peter Benifer) charged to fourth and equal fifth placings in the world, delivering under the pressure of their maiden global meet.
Lightfoot produced the performance of his life with a new personal best of 13.48 (+0.2) in the most intense of races, soaking in the atmosphere on a night that he had dreamt about for years on end.
“The environment was unreal just coming together and racing the quickest boys in the world, it’s crazy to think we are both here, from Australian, repping the country,” Lightfoot said.
“I’m a bit sad, I want to go again! It’s been a long season and I think everyone who has competed here regardless of the event deserves it. We were both pushing for a medal but on the day you have to executed the best as possible, and the other boys did it great.”
Willis embraced the pressure in the final after winning both his first and second round encounters, clocking 13.54 (+0.2) to seize his moment and prove that he can be a contender on the global scene.
“I’m definitely happy with that, obviously fifth in the world. I’m proud of Mitch getting the job done, now we move up to 106cm,” Willis said.
The pair have left room for their domestic rivalry to grow, now sharing the same personal best of 13.48.
Emerging star Hayley Kitching (Tim Kitching) capped off her breakout season with a sensational seventh-place finish in the 800m Final, clocking the second fastest time of her career with 2:03.44 to go toe-to-toe with the world’s best.
The result comes after a swift 2:02.12 in the second round, with Kitching delivering a scorching campaign at her global debut.
“Words can’t even describe how happy I am with that! It’s not a medal but I made the final and I am so happy, I wouldn’t change anything – I had to run the way I did to make the final,” Kitching said.
“In the past I have lacked confidence in leading and taking out races, but this has really shown me that I can mix it with these girls, run fast, and be in contention.”
With a wry smile, Kitching hinted at the next stage of her trajectory:
“Olympics,” Kitching said.
Marley Raikiwasa (Steve Larsson) rounded out the finals action on Day 3 with a ninth-place finish in the Women’s Discus, as her third-round effort of 48.74m saw her narrowly miss out on the final eight. The youngest member on the Australian Under 20 Team at 16-years-old, it is fair to say that Raikiwasa’s first international voyage was a success.
How do you deal with two hour a rain delay? Take a nap in the call room, according to Calab Law (Andrew Iselin). The teen sensation scorched his way around the damp track to a blistering personal best of 20.42 (+0.1) to clinch second place in Semi-Final 3, punching his ticket to tomorrow’s final as only the second Australian man to do so in 24-years.
The laid-back operator went unfazed by the delay and was elated to come within 0.01 of Aidan Murphy’s Australian Under 20 record.
“I did what I wanted to do, and now I’m there. I was planning to run faster than that but the rain delay felt like three hours, I had a little nap until about 30-minutes to go. I’m just relaxed naturally, I don’t put too much pressure on myself because it takes too much energy,” Law said.
“20.2 [seconds] is my goal for the final, it should be better conditions tomorrow hopefully.”
Fellow Australian Aidan Murphy (Peter Fitzgerald) was brave in fighting off illness to take to the start line, but ultimately fell just 0.01 shy of a finals berth when clocking 20.84 (-1.2) to finish in third place of Semi-Final 2.
A World Athletics Championships representative, an Olympian, and now a World Under 20 finalist – it may be a unique order of events but Ellie Beer (Brett Robinson) is back. The 19-year-old charged to a seasons best of 52.55 and into tomorrow’s 400m Final, producing a performance reflective of her talent.
“It feels amazing honestly! I think the last time I ran that was when I was 16 [years-old], I’m so stoked. We were all helping each other out in the call room, that’s what it’s all about in this sport,” Beer said.
“This whole season has been tough but to end it like this, I could not be any happier.”
Not much more could be asked of Jasmin Guthrie (Angus McEntyre) who delivered a personal best of 53.56 at the biggest athletic occasion of her short career, finishing in third place of Semi-Final 3. The feat was matched by Cooper Sherman (Neville Down) whose Cali campaign was rewarded with a career best run of 46.94 to finish in seventh place of Semi-Final 2.
The Women’s Long Jump Qualification saw Emelia Surch (Glynis Nunn) coast through to the final with a personal best leap of 6.20m (+0.5), finishing in fifth place of Group A with the ninth best performance across the two pools.
A heptathlete at heart but qualified for the Long Jump and 100m Hurdles in Cali, the result leaves Surch confident ahead of a busy week:
“It’s so much fun, I love long jumping. The competition is so close, I was looking at the scoreboard on the way out and it’s only centimetres apart, so I will try to get myself into the mix. Hopefully I can run a personal best in the hurdles tomorrow too.”
Fellow Australian Katie Gunn (Matt Horsnell) did not progress to the final after jumping 5.80m (-0.3) to finish in 13th place of Group B.
Taylah Cruttenden (Braiden Clarke) was unable to advance to the 100m Final when running 11.67 (-0.1) to finish in fifth place of Semi-Final 2, but the 18-year-old will return to anchor the Women’s 4x100m Relay, with the experienced campaigner set to lead the team to the final and beyond.
With Monday’s 5000m final in his legs, Archie Noakes (Charlotte Wilson) put in a much-improved performance to finish in seventh place of Heat 1 in the 3000m Steeplechase, clocking 9:12.50 to hold his own in the challenging conditions. Flynn Pumpa (Jayden Russ) finished 9th in Heat 2 with a valiant 9:14.48 performance.
400m Hurdler Dominic Panozzo (Deb Walsham) clocked 54.65 at his global debut, finishing in sixth place of Heat 1, while Patrick Cantlon (Owen Stewart) and Thomas Diamond (Stephen Ellinghaus) endured a tough morning in the first round of the 3000m. The pair finished in 13th and 15th placings of their encounters in times of 8:25.63 and 8:38.84 respectively.
Despite leading into the home straight of Semi-Final 2 in the 400m Hurdles before hitting the eighth barrier, Isabella Guthrie (Angus McEntyre) was disqualified post-race (TR22.6.1).
By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted: 3/8/2022
