Murphy-Knight progresses #Tampere2018 - Day 2 Morning Session

Published Wed 11 Jul 2018

Photo: Jarmillia Murphy-Knight (QLD)

Eight Australians were in action during the morning session on day two of the IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland.

Along with the busy session for decathletes Ashley Moloney (QLD) and Gary Haasbroek (VIC), Jarmillia Murphy-Knight (QLD) and Annamaria Leszczynska (ACT) contested the 400m hurdles heats, Christian Davis (VIC) the menâ€™s 400m heats, James Joycey (VIC) the hammer qualifying, and Riley Day (QLD) and Mia Gross (VIC) the womenâ€™s 100m opening round.

There was some good progressions to the next round and close misses.

Australia still 1-2 in decathlon after seven events

The Australian decathletes Ashley Moloney (QLD) and Gary Haasbroek (VIC) have continued their fantastic top form in the decathlon and remain in first and second with three events remaining.

In the first event of day two, Moloney continued his run of top form with a personal best in a decathlon of 14.13 seconds in the 110m hurdles. This placed him fourth, while Haasbroek was close behind in seventh with 14.26s - just outside his best from the Australian Trials.

In the discus, both athletes threw personal bests. Moloneyâ€™s final attempt was 47.39m, an improvement of over two metres and he had the second longest throw of all competitors for the day. Haasbroekâ€™s 40.54m placed him eighth.

At the end of the discus, Moloney leads on 6093 points with Haasbroek on 5720 pts.

The world leader coming into the championships Stepan Kekin, who is a Russian competing as an authorised neutral athlete (ANA), won the discus with a personal best of 48.65m. He has a very strong second day, as does Haasbroek. Kekin started the day in seventh, moved to sixth after the hurdles and fifth after the discus with 5604pts.

The completion of the pole vault, javelin and 1500m remain.

Aside from the action in Finland, one of the morning's highlights for Australians fans following at home was news that the IAAF made the LiveStream available down under.

WATCH: Tampere2018 Livestream on YouTube

And as the Finns say "Kiitos" (Thanks) to the @iaaforg for making this happen! pic.twitter.com/xZ41CNvgia
â€” Athletics Australia (@AthsAust) July 11, 2018

Murphy-Knight progresses to 400m hurdles semis

Jarmillia Murphy-Knight (QLD) and Annamaria Leszczynska (ACT) made their international debut in the 400m hurdles, with the large field of six heats making progression to the semi-finals extremely tough.

Murphy-Knight, 18, ran a controlled first 200m and then finished strong down the home straight as others faded. She finished fourth with a personal best of 59.19 seconds and will progress to the semi-finals, as one of the six fastest non-automatic qualifiers.

She was happy with her best time and encouragingly felt there was room for improvement at the start of her race.

Leszczynska went out hard from her middle lane to give herself the best chance of progressing. The eighteen year-old was hurdling well but couldnâ€™t hold her pace down the final 100m. She finished sixth in her heat in a solid 59.94.

After an interrupted preparation she was happy to run her second best time.

Murphy-Knight will race the semi-finals in the evening of day three. American Brooke Jarwoski was the fastest qualifier from the heats, 58.42.

Well done to both of the girls. PB for Jarmilia is exciting & for Annie to run sub-60sec off her preparation ðŸ‘ðŸ» both girls should be very proud! ðŸ‡¦ðŸ‡º
â€” Lauren Wells OLY (@Loz_Wells) July 11, 2018

Davis through to 400m semis

Victorian Christian Davis ran a strong 400m heat finishing fourth in 47.07 seconds. He was rewarded for pushing hard to line as his time was the fastest of the non-automatic qualifiers which ensured his lane in the semi-finals.

The 18-year-old coached by Anula Costa in Melbourne, had Jamaican world leader Christian Taylor in the lane inside him. Taylor (46.14) flew out and erased the stagger quickly but Davis maintained composure and the youngsterâ€™s 800m strength showed in the final 100m.

Heâ€™ll now get another shot to try and get close to his personal best of 46.44 in the semis in the evening of day three.

Davis, who will also run the 4x400m in Tampere, is a Torres Strait Islander and speaks Croatian. He was a national level soccer player and no doubt will be keeping an eye on Croatia vs England in the FIFA World Cup semi-final later today.

Day progresses and Gross just misses in 100m

Riley Day (QLD) and Mia Gross (VIC) got their busy schedules off to strong starts in the heats of the 100m.

Day finished third in heat 2 in a time of 11.77 seconds to automatically qualify for the semi-finals tomorrow evening (day three). The experienced Australian was drawn against Twanisha Terry (USA) who has run 10.99 this year. Terry won the heat in 11.37.

Gross (VIC) was in the first 100m heat and placed fifth in 11.80 seconds, just outside her best. She had a nervous wait to watch the next four heats to see if she was one of the four fastest non-automatic qualifiers. She was on the cusp but got knocked-out in the final heat to miss by one spot, and just 0.03 seconds.

Day will race the semi-final, and hopefully the final, on the evening of day three. Both athletes will also run the 200m and 4x100m relay at Tampere 2018.

Joycey produces hammer throw season best

James Joycey (VIC) was in great form in group A of the menâ€™s hammer throw.

The 18-year-old, who fouled three times at Trials, started with a comfortable 67.60m and then unleashed a seasonâ€™s best of 70.38m in the second round. He couldnâ€™t improve with his final throw (68.80m).

The automatic qualifying distance is 74 metres, so the Australian will need to wait until group B concludes before he knows if he has a place in Fridayâ€™s final.

The Victorian is in rare company with Australian hammer throwers, as he is only the fifth Australian teenager to throw over the 70m mark.

Next Aussies in Action - Day 2 Evening Session - Wed 11:30pm AEST to Thurs 3:05am AEST

Decathletes Ashley Moloney and Gary Haasbroek have two events to go in the gruelling two-day test of all-round talent.

Men	Javelin	Decathlon A	Ashley Moloney, Gary Haasbroek
Men	110m Hurdles	Semi
Men	Pole Vault	Qual A+B
Women	800m	Semi	Carley Thomas, Jemima Russell
Women	Shot Put	Final
Men	Javelin	Decathlon B	Ashley Moloney, Gary Haasbroek
Men	100m	Semi	Jake Doran
Men	Long Jump	Final
Women	400m	Semi	Ella Connolly
Women	Javelin	Final
Women	3000m	Final	Amelia Mazza-Downie, Lara Crouch
Men	1500m	Decathlon	Ashley Moloney, Gary Haasbroek
Men	100m	Final	Jake Doran

Andrew Reid for Athletics Australia

Superlatives and Statistics David Tarbotton

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Championships start Tuesday 10 July 4pm AEST and continue through to Sunday 15 July 11pm AEST.