EUGENE, Oregon – As expected, the men’s and women’s 100m finals held centre stage on the second night of the World Athletics U20 Championships at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field. Both events lived up to the hype.
In the women’s 100m final, Shanoya Douglas, the world leader, faced her biggest challenge from the Maxwell twins of Team USA – Mia and Mariah. Douglas, drawn in lane six, was sandwiched by Mia in lane five and Mariah in lane seven.
Mia got an incredible start and maintained her composure to register a gun-to-tape victory in 11.14 (-0.1 m/s). Douglas, who recorded the best reaction time (0.133), found the determined Mia a worthy challenger, who was always a step ahead of her. Douglas fought valiantly, and inched closer, but ultimately had to settle for silver as Mia would not be caught or denied, especially in front of her home crowd.
“As soon as I got out of the blocks, I knew the race was mine. I continued to execute through and run through the line as I have been in practice. It’s definitely a blessing; I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Maxwell’s victory marked the first since 2016 that a US woman won gold in the event, breaking Jamaica’s stranglehold on the title, after they had won the last three editions.
16-year-old Italian, Kelly-Ann Doualla Edimo, who was consistent throughout the rounds, surprised the rest of the field by claiming the bronze medal.
“I did not get a gold, but I am still excited,: said Douglas. “I am very grateful. This has been a long season; to be able to come out to the world championship with 11.17 this late in the season is really, really, really great.”
The men’s 100m final brought the curtains down, and it was worth the wait. Joint-favourites Gary Card of Jamaica and Tate Taylor of Team USA were lined up side by side in lanes four and five.
Both men had decent starts; however, Taylor had a better reaction time of 0.138 to Card’s 0.142. Card and Taylor matched strides until 70m when Taylor shifted through the gears, showing impressive top-end speed to move ahead and claim a famous victory in 9.94 seconds. It was a lifetime best for Taylor, who had never broken ten seconds before. Taylor moved into joint fifth place among the fastest U20 sprinters in history.
“There were some tweaks I was looking to fix after the semi-finals, and I think I executed those tweaks pretty well,” said Taylor, who became the first US athlete to win the men’s world U20 100m title since Noah Lyles in 2016. “Once I got out of the top end, I knew it was going to be a good race, for sure.”
Card, the only other U20 sprinter to go sub-10 this season, secured silver in 10.05 while South Africa’s Marko Ferreira clinched the bronze medal in 10.16 seconds.
“Today is Jamaica’s Independence Day, so to win silver in an event like this is so special,” said Card, who finished sixth two years ago in Lima, Peru.
________________________
Ready to weigh in on the Shanghai Diamond League? Whether you agree, disagree, or have insider knowledge to share – the comments section below is waiting for YOUR unique perspective. Join the Trackalerts Social conversation now!
Like us on Facebook @trackalerts
Follow us on Instagram @trackalerts
Subscribe to our YouTube @trackalertstv
Follow us on TikTok @trackalerts
Follow us on X @trackalerts
Follow us on Threads @trackalerts
