Day 4 PM Session Recap: U.S. Gets 4 Medals on Top of Historical Sweep
Team USA brought home four more medals today in dominant fashion. In the 400 hurdles, Sydney McLaughlin and Norman Grimes both took gold in convincing fashion, running 55.94 and 49.11 respectively. Grimes made up the stagger insanely fast and took the victory by more than one full second over second place, running the World Youth Lead. McLaughln took the victory by almost one second and set the new championship record. This Team USA 400 hurdles sweep was only the second time the U.S. has captured gold in both the boys and girls race. The first time it was done was in 2007 by William Wynne and Dalilah Muhammad.
Also bringing home a medal was Brandee Johnson who finished third in the 400 hurdles with her time of 57.47. In the High Jump, Darius Carbin also captured the bronze, clearing a new PR of 2.16(7-1). He did not miss until this PR height, which kept him in first through most of the contest.
Another notable performance came from the Texan Julia Heymach. The U.S. No. 4 in the 1500 finished 8th in the final, bettering her N0. 4 mark with a PR of 4:21.78.
In the field events, Adrian Piperi had a difficult time throwing the disc, only landing one legal throw on his second attempt. However, his throw was a youth implement PR of 58.81(192-11.25) and was good enough to place 6th. In the Triple Jump, Tara Davis did not make it to the second phase of the finals, finishing 9th with her 12.65(41-6) after only taking three jumps.
In the 200 semi’s the US advanced three of their runners to the finals, each taking the victory in their respective heats. Candace Hill cruised through the semi’s in 23.21. Lauren Rain Williams also looked strong with her 23.03, taking the victory by almost a full second. On the boys side Josephus Lyles ran a PR in the semi’s with his 20.93 to advance to the finals. Look out for them tomorrow in the finals.
Other notable finals to look out for tomorrow, Sammy Watson will be running in the 800 finals. She has the fourth fastest qualifying time going in, but has the second fastest PR in the field. Look for her to mix it up in what looks to be a fast 800. Speaking of mixing things up, the last and possibly the most anticipated final tomorrow is the mixed 4x400 relay final. Team USA has the fastest time going in with their 3:22.65. However, with several athletes being done with their finals, could we see the U.S. swap in other athletes? *cough* Sydney McLaughlin, Josephus Lyles *cough* Could the team break 3:20? It'll be a race to watch for sure!