Trinidad and Tobago will be in the hunt for the gold medals in both the women’s and men’s 4x100m relay finals on Sunday from 4.05 pm and 4.19 pm, respectively, when the curtain comes down on the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, in Oregon, USA.
In the men’s semifinals yesterday, the T&T men’s quartet of Kadeem Chinapoo (10.97 secs), Alex Seepersad (9.51), Woods (9.64), and Trevaughn Stewart (9.28) cruised to victory in the second of four heats in 39.40 seconds, a season best, with South Africa second in 39.86, also a season best, to secure the two automatic spots to the final, while Czechia was third in 40.30.
Jamaica won heat one in 39.51 and was joined in the final by Japan, which ended in the second position in 39.65, both season best times, while Great Britain/Northern Ireland won heat three in 39.38 with Germany second in 39.39 and Belgium third in 39.45, a national record, to sneak into the final as the fastest loser, and in heat four, the USA qualified as the winner in 38.87, a season best, with Switzerland second in 39.32, a national age-group record.
In the women’s 4x100m relay, the T&T quartet of Noemi Theodore (12.32 seconds), Imani Mills (10.81), Kaori Robley (11.01), and Kayla Charles (10.89) combined to clock 45.03 seconds for the runner-up position in the second semifinal heat of three, the 13th best time overall, finishing behind Germany (44.09 seconds) with Canada third (45.03 seconds).
However, with the top three finishers in each of the women’s heats advancing to the final instead of the qualification being based on times, it meant T&T advanced.
The trio of Switzerland (43.99), Belgium (44.33), and Spain (44.54) qualified from heat one, and in heat three, Australia (43.44), a national record; Jamaica (43.61); and Nigeria (43.65) qualified from heat three.
In the men’s 4x400m third and final relay heat, the T&T quartet of Zachery Frank (46.83 secs), Jaden Clement (46.82), Joshua Perry (46.31), and Kille Alexander (47.47) ended in the fourth spot in three minutes, 07.43 seconds, a second best, and the sixth fastest time overall in the heats.
However, with three semifinal races, only the top three finishers in each heat qualified to the final, with the T&T quartet unluckily missing out.
The USA won the heat in a world-leading time of three minutes, 04.55 seconds, with South Africa second in three minutes, 05.08 seconds, and Jamaica third in three minutes, 06.44 seconds, to secure the three spots to the final with the three fastest times overall.
Australia won heat two in 3:07.04 minutes, with Poland (3:07.12) and Zimbabwe (3:08.56) qualifying with the fourth, fifth, and ninth fastest times in the heats, while Botswana (3:08.22), France (3:08.28), and Germany (3:08.88) qualified from heat one with the seventh, eighth, and 11th fastest times overall.
The other T&T athlete involved yesterday, Seannah Parsons, was 12th of 13 competitors in Group B of the women’s triple jump qualifiers with a best of 12.68 m. The championship ends today.
T&T’s Woods in
200m U-20 world final
T&T’s Makaelen Woods was set to run for the gold medal in the men’s 200m final in the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, in Oregon, USA, on Saturday night.
This was after two-time national age-group champion Woods ended the 200m semifnal heats with the fourth fastest time overall after an impressive run in his semifinal on Friday night.
Competing in the third and final men’s 200m semifinal heat, the 18-year-old Woods was a second-place finisher from lane eight and fourth fastest overall in the heats in a personal best time of 20.47 to trail 100m champion USA’s Tate Taylor, who won in 20.34 from lane five, while South Korean Chae-min Jun was third in 20.88 from lane nine.
In the first men’s 200m semifinal heat, USA’s Blake Hamilton won in 20.38 seconds and was joined in the final by Barbadian Jayden Green in 20.46 seconds and Jamaica’s Gary Card, the 100m silver medal winner, who clocked 20.64.
Japan’s Tomoro Ide won heat two in 20.63, with Portugal’s Pedro Afonso second in a national under-20 record time of 20.66, and Switzerland’s Emile Mumenthaler third in 20.82.
When the first round heats took place on Friday morning, Woods, running from lane two, stormed into the semifinals of the men’s 200m, which was contested last night after press time, following his win in heat two of seven in 20.92 seconds, the 15th fastest time in the heats, with South African Mukona Manavhela second in 21.10 and Slovakian Richard Machata third in 21.19 to secure the two other automatic qualification spots from the heat.
Also on Friday night, 18-year-old Imani Mills struggled in her women’s 200m semifinal heat one and placed ninth in 23.74 seconds, the 21st fastest time overall, with the trio of USA’s Mia Maxwell (22.87), Jamaica’s Sashana Johnson (22.92), a personal best, and Italy’s Marherita Castellani (22.90) with an Italian national under-record, qualifying for the final.
In heat two, Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas won in 22.53, the fastest time overall in the semifinals, with the USA’s Mariah Maxwell, the other half of the Maxwell twins, second in 22.78, and Sweden’s Jamilla Bernhardsson third in 23.12, a personal best to advance to the gold medal run, while in heat three, Nigerian Oghene Oyibu won in 23.13, with South African Rume Burger second in 23.18 and Antigua and Barbuda’s Tyra Fenton third in 23.25 to secure the three spots available to the final.
When the heats took place on Friday morning, Mills, competing from lane five of heat eight of nine, crossed the finish line in 23.75 seconds for the second automatic qualification spot from the heat and the 24th best time overall, while the USA’s Mariah Maxwell, who won the heat in 23.37, had the 11th best time in the heats.
However, in heat six of the women’s 200m, T&T’s Kaori Robley was a fourth-place finisher in 24.00 seconds and did not advance.
Also on Friday, in the women’s 100m hurdles seventh and final heat, T&T’s Jenna-Marie Thomas finished in the eighth spot in 14.20 seconds and 48th overall.
