EUGENE, Ore. — The World Athletics U20 Championships are set to begin, and several of the world’s brightest young stars are expected to battle for medals across the men’s events.
Jamaica’s Gary Card, the only entrant with a sub-10-second personal best, headlines the men’s 100m, while American Tate Taylor leads the 200m field after his impressive 19.75 performance. Olympic relay medalist Quincy Wilson is the athlete to beat in the 400m.
Dexter Lee is the only Jamaican to win the World U20 Championships men’s 100m title—and he did it TWICE!
Lee made history by capturing back-to-back World U20 100m crowns in 2008 and 2010, becoming the first athlete ever to successfully defend the men’s 100m title at the World U20 Championships.
Australia’s Daniel Williams enters as one of the favorites in the 800m, while Ethiopia’s Destaw Tade tops the contenders in the 1500m. Kenya will look to maintain its distance-running dominance through Emmanuel Kiprono (3000m) and Frankline Kibet (5000m), although Spain’s Bakr El Asri is expected to challenge the traditional Kenyan grip on the steeplechase.
The sprint hurdles promise to be among the highlights, with Americans Le’Ezra Brown and Zacchaeus Brocks facing Japan’s Jeremy Koga after all have broken the 13-second barrier.
In the field events, Algeria’s Younes Ayachi and European U18 champion Samuel James are among the leading high jump contenders, while France’s Zackaria Dia enters as the pole vault favorite. India tops the rankings in the long jump, and Cuba’s Giann Baxter leads the triple jump.
The discus throw features one of the championship’s strongest fields. Jamaica’s Joseph Salmon is among the favorites but is expected to face stiff competition from Estonia’s Sten-Erik Iir, Poland’s Jakub Rodziak, and Ukraine’s Yaroslav Lystopad. South Korea’s Park Si-hoon could spring a surprise in the shot put.
The hammer throw is wide open, with three athletes boasting throws beyond 77 metres, while South Africa’s Jan-Hendrik Heymans leads the javelin rankings. Brazil’s Liam Belo da Silva heads the decathlon field, and India’s Nitin Gupta is among the favorites in the 5,000m race walk.
The championships will also feature the debut of the mixed 4x100m relay, joining the traditional men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays, setting the stage for several exciting team battles.
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