CALI, Colombia – All three Jamaicans who were in action on Wednesday morning, Roshawn Clarke, Antonio Forbes, and Bryan Levell advanced to the semi-final round of their events at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships here inside the Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium.
Roshawn Clarke, who won heat 2 of the 400 meters in 50.71, will enter the next round as the third fastest overall qualifier. Yan Manuel Vazquez of Puerto Rico, who ran a personal-best 50.66 and Matic Ian Cucek of Slovenia, 50.68 seconds are the other fastest from the heats.
“Pretty comfortable,” was how Clarke described her first-round performance. “I just came out here and did what my coach said, to qualify as comfortable as possible.
Forbes, who trailed over the penultimate hurdle in the one-lap intermediate hurdles, finished strongly to take victory in 52.45 seconds. “This is my first national team; as the youngest or second youngest in the field, I feel happy to come out and make it to the next round.
Levell, running his first race since May, ran 20.85 for third place in heat 3 of the 200 meters. “It felt good, seeing that it is my first race competing from May. It felt strange, but it was good to get (this run) out of the way,” he said.
Looking forward to this afternoon’s semi-finals, Levell said: “The aim is just to go out there and do my best and qualify for the final.”
Meanwhile, the 19.99-second championship record in the men’s 200 meters highlighted the morning session. Letsile Tebogo, who won the men’s 100-meter title yesterday in a record 9.91 seconds, was the man responsible. The Batswana promised “the best out of me” for the final.
