Welcome back to Championship season! Taking another quick detour from the usual Diamond League breakdowns to point out a few notable performances from the U20 World Championship, which is a version of the world championship for athletes aged 20 years of age or younger.
This is often a good preview into who will be future stars in the pro circuit and world-level championships. Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Trayvon Bromell, and Dina Asher-Smith are examples of medalists who once competed in the U20 world championships. Ultimately, part of the fun of being a track fan is becoming a fan of athletes early on and feeling vindicated when they continue to progress. You were there first!
So, with that in mind, here are a few performances that caught my personal attention.
Men's 4x100m Relay:
What's Happening: USA men set a new U20 world record in the 4x100m relay with a time of 38.16.
Callout: We haven't talked too much about relays and handoffs, but the main thing that stood out to me is how smooth the handoffs were for each leg! This has historically been a challenge for the men at the senior level, so hopefully this is a good omen of what's to come for American men in the 4x100 relay.
Mixed 4x400m Relay:
What's Happening: The US wins the mixed 4x400m relay in a dominant fashion with a world record time of 3:15.31.
Callout: If you're not too familiar with mixed relays, they are required to be in the order od man-woman-man-woman (as of 2022). They initially started out as any order.
What stood out to me here is USA's second leg, Taylor-Nicole Overton, who opened up the lead in a way that ultimately decided the rest of the race. Can we call that opening of the lead "The Overton Window?"
Men's 110m Hurdles:
What's Happening: Le'Ezra Brown sets a new U20 world record of 12.72 to win the 110m hurdles.
Callout: So, this isn't an overall world record because he ran this over 39 inch barrier and the senior height is 42 inch barriers. But this is still a remarkable performance!! This reminds me of Tharp's world record where there isn't a particularly aggressive start but he doesn't seem to fatigue like everyone else. The US is deep in this event at the senior level and it apparently is even deeper. The future is bright!
Women's 200m:
What's Happening: Mia Maxwell defeats Shanoya Douglas and Mariah Maxwell with a personal best time of 22.37 to complete the U20 double (100m and 200m title).
Callout: This makes Mia the first American women to hit this double in U20 history! You can also view her 100m victory here. This should be more than enough to put her name into people's memories and should be a good omen for her future and the future of American sprinting!
What's Next
We'll be back to the Diamond League circuit next. If you want to catch the next meet, it will be the Lausanne Diamond League Meet on August 21st. You can stream it on FloTrack.
If you want to follow along with more track and field observations or bad puns between now and then, you can follow me at @predamame on Twitter. See you then!
Welcome back to Championship season! Taking another quick detour from the usual Diamond League breakdowns to point out a few notable performances from the U20 World Championship, which is a version of the world championship for athletes aged 20 years of age or younger.
This is often a good preview into who will be future stars in the pro circuit and world-level championships. Emmanuel Wanyonyi, Trayvon Bromell, and Dina Asher-Smith are examples of medalists who once competed in the U20 world championships. Ultimately, part of the fun of being a track fan is becoming a fan of athletes early on and feeling vindicated when they continue to progress. You were there first!
So, with that in mind, here are a few performances that caught my personal attention.