Top of the Table | PREVIEW World Under 20 Championships Day Three

The 2024 World Under 20 Championships eclipse their halfway point on Day Three but the action is only just heating up in Lima, with Olympic semi-finalists Torrie Lewis, Claudia Hollingsworth and Peyton Craig hitting the track as Australia looks to stay atop the medal table.

A pair of 800m semi-finals will see Australian Under 20 record holders Hollingsworth (VIC, Craig Mottram) and Craig (QLD, Brendan Mallyon) look to tighten the clamps on the world’s best junior athletes and assert their presence ahead of Friday’s final, where their times of 1:58.41 and 1:44.11 have them seeded as the fastest athletes in the world this year.

Despite sitting pretty on paper, Hollingsworth plans to leave nothing to chance over two laps:

“All races you have to come to with the same professional attitude and I’m not going to let that slip while I’m here,” Hollingsworth said.

“This is another major competition that I need to get ready for and it’s hard to come back from such a peak at the Olympics and get back up again, but I think I’m doing alright at that.”

16-year-old Fleur Cooper (NSW, Ben Liddy) will join the duo in the 800m semi-finals, having also progressed from Tuesday’s heats.

The big names keep rolling in as Lewis (QLD, Andrew Iselin) arrives in Lima ready to rumble over 200m, leading the action alongside 16-year-old Gout Gout (QLD, Diane Sheppard) who looms as one of the most anticipated athletes of the championships.

Speaking at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships press conference, Australia’s fastest woman was optimistic ahead of the 200m and 4x100m Relay:

“I have higher expectations here and in the team I’m one of the older ones, so it’s about setting a good example for the younger ones.”

While Lewis and Gout will occupy much of the spotlight as the 200m heats and semi-finals both take place on Day Three, teammates Jessica Milat (VIC, Cathy Woodruff) and Zach Della Rocca (VIC, Robert Abdullah) could prove two of the surprise packets of the championships – both capable of giving the race for the final a shake.

Fresh off being crowned world Under 20 champion in the Women’s Long Jump last night, Delta Amidzovski (NSW, Becky Amidzovski & Roger Fabri) returns for the heats and semi-finals of the Women’s 100m Hurdles.

The versatile talent who shattered Sally Pearson’s Under 18 national record last year has her mind set on qualifying for the final in what is traditionally her preferred event, while William Wong (VIC, Max Binnington & Eric Wong) leads the action over the 110m Hurdles where he will contend for a finals berth.

2024 will be remembered as the year of Olympic champion Nina Kennedy and fellow pole vaulter Tryphena Hewett (SA, Kym Simons & Pat Todd) is eager to add to Australia’s success in the event in Lima, flying under the radar with a clean sheet in qualifying – keeping her cool throughout the three-hour assignment in which she jumped four times.

Battling through a tough schedule on Day Two with both heats and semi-finals of the 400m, Terrell Thorne (QLD, Chris Dale) punched his ticket to today’s final where he has shifted his mindset from merely qualifying to chasing the medals – having set a new career-best of 46.44.

Quiet-achieving triple jumper Alex Epitropakis (QLD, Stacey Taurima) also landed a date with the final on Day Three where he will chase his 15.69m personal best, while Mia Toohey (NSW, Jacinta Doyle) will do battle in the final of the 3000m Steeplechase and Ky Hehir (WA, Matthew Ramsden) takes to the 3000m final.

The versatile Jack Whiteside (WA, Chelsea Whiteside) is locked and loaded for the Decathlon, set to relish his opportunity on the world stage when taking to the first five of 10 events in Lima – hopefully of laying down strong markers in the High Jump and Long Jump.

Further first-round appearances come from Izobelle Louison-Roe (NSW, Karen Roe) and Toby Stolberg (QLD, Marty Stolberg) in the High Jump, while long jumpers Mason McGroder (NSW, Matt Wade) and Jesuye Doherty (SA, Deborah Gayen) hit the track, and Gabrielle Schmidt (QLD, Kerry Schreiber) doubles back for the 3000m heats after claiming seventh place in the 5000m.

By Lachlan Moorhouse, Athletics Australia
Posted 28/08/2024