Cedenio strikes 400m GOLD, Mason gets 110H silver at World Juniors

EUGENE, USA – Trinidad and Tobago’s Machel Cedenio won the 400m title on Thursday’s third day of the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships here in Oregon.

Cedenio’s time 45.13 is the fastest junior time in the world this year and a national junior record. Cedenio improved his world leading and national junior 400m record time of 45.23 set in winning the Cayman Island Invitational in May. Cedenio is now 21st on the all-time junior list

Running in lane four, Cedenio took control of the race on the backstretch as he moved by Kenya’s Alexander Lerionka Sampao to his outside.

When the stagger was finally unwound at the top of the homestretch, Cedenio was well away from the field and crossed the line more than a second in front of his nearest challenger.

Japan’s Nobuya Kato took silver with a strong run in the home straight, finishing in 46.17 to deliver Japan’s best ever finish in this event.

“This win is especially good because I was injured earlier this season. Honestly, I did know I had a 45.13 in me because I trained for this. I didn't realize the lead I had before the race ended. I just executed my own race,” said Cedenio.

Cedenio is the second TT athlete to win a World Junior men's 400m title. Renny Quow struck gold in 2006 in a then national junior record of 45.73. Cedenio is also the fourth Caribbean 400m champion after Michael McDonald (JAM) 45.83-1994, Quow and Kirani James (GRN) 45.89-in 2010

Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Tyler Mason won silver in the men’s 110m hurdles, in a national junior record run.

Mson made up some ground in the second half of the race and on another day might have had a gold medal hung around his neck after a sparkling run of 13.06, the second-fastest run in history by a junior, but had to settle for the silver medal. He beat Omar McLeod’s previous national record of 13.23, set in 2013.

Frenchman Wilhem Belocian, who beat Mason for the Carifta Games title in April, became the first junior athlete to ever run the 110m hurdles faster than 13 seconds when he clocked 12.99 to produce the second world junior record of the IAAF World Junior Championships 2014.

Mason, however, was happy with his silver medal.

“I feel like I came very close to first, but overall it was not a disappointment. Now I am looking to go pro, so you will see me more in the future,” said Mason.