Wednesday Summaries from the 2014 Youth Olympics
2014 Youth Olympic Games – Day 1
Photos by Joy Kamani (top to bottom): 1) The Olympic Flame; 2) Brittny Ellis in the girls' 400; 3) part of the lead pack in the girls' 3k; 4) Kamani Rushing in the girls' 100H; 5) Haley Showalter-Stevens gets some advice from the experts during the girls' discus; 6) Martin Manley in the boys' 400; 7) part of the boys' 3000 pack with tall winner Yomif Kejelcha in the middle; 8) Amere Lattin leans for the finish in the boys' 110H.
Girls 400m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
A monster PR for Australia’s Jessica Thornton led the qualifiers. The Australian Junior Champ improved from 54.63 (53.90 in 2013) to 52.78 with her heat 1 win, and moved up to #3 among World Youth for 2014. Brittny Ellis (Warren, Gurnee, IL) was second in heat 3 (54.11) and qualified for the “A” final.
Girls 800m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
The leading qualifier was Germany’s Mareen Kalis, running a PB 2:05.67 in winning heat 1. She finished 7th in the 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships. Lakeisha Warner of the British Virgin Islands, a student at Cary HS (NC), finished 6th in her heat and will not make the “A” final.
Girls 3000m
(First 10 qualify for the “A” final; second 10 qualify for the “B” final)
Fatuma Chebsi (Bahrain) ran the 4th fastest World Youth time this year with 9:06.87. Only one athlete from the Americas competed, Judith Huaman (Peru) who finished 16th in 10:26.57.
Girls 100m Hurdles
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
The leader was Laura Valette (France), winning heat 1 with a personal best of 13.34 [0.4], now ranked #2 among World Youth. World Youth leader Klaudia Sorok (Hungary), with a 13.32 best, won heat 3 with a time of 13.66. Elvira Herman (Belarus) won heat 3 at 13.43. She has a best of 13.31, so the top 3 Youth hurdlers in the world this year will compete in the “A” final. Kimani Rushing (Hallandale, Fort Lauderdale, FL) had a PB 13.73, third behind Herman, and will be in the “A” final as well.
Girls Pole Vault
(First 7 qualify for the “A” final; second 6 qualify for the “B” final)
Angelica Moser of Switzerland led the qualifiers at 12-5.5. She is currently ranked #2 among Youth with a best of 14-2. The six other qualifiers all cleared 12-1.5, and they include Robeilys Peinado with a best of 14-1.75. Peinado was the 2013 World Youth champ and one of the favorites at this year’s IAAF World Junior champs, but no-heighted there.
Girls Long Jump
(4 qualifying attempts; first 8 qualify for the “A” final; last 7 qualify for the “B” final)
With 9 of the top 10 yearly World Youth jumpers not present, the 11th ranked one won the qualifying. That would be Beatrice Fiorese of Italy with a PB 20-6.5. That, in fact, moved her up the equal #6 this year among Youth. World leader Ekaterina Kropivko of Russia was just 11th. Rhesa Foster (Clovis North, Fresno, CA), with the possibility of not making any finals after 3 straight fouls, ended up qualifying 6th overall by virtue of her 18-10.75 fourth round jump.
Girls Discus
(4 qualifying attempts; first 8 make the “A” final; second 8 make the “B” final)
Haley Showalter (Valor Christian, Highlands Ranch, CO) barely made it into the “A” final, throwing 142-4 on her fourth attempt. Favorite Alyona Belyakova (Ukraine) is the leader at 166-11. Byelyakova is the World Youth leader at 171-3. She won’t turn 16 until December 21.
Boys 400m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
The leading qualifier was Martin Manley of Jamaica, winning heat 1 in 47.14. Manley, the 2013 World Youth champ, was part of the Jamaican bronze medal 4x400m team at the 2014 IAAF World Junior championships. But he also did not make it out of the first round in the individual 400 there. He also won gold for St. Jago HS in winning the 2014 Penn Relays 4x400m relay. Andrew James (Westminster Academy, Fort Lauderdale, FL) ran a blistering first 200 meters, taking an early lead, but fading to 4th in heat 1, running 49.06 and not making the “A” final.
Boys 3000m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; second 8 qualify for the “B” final)
There were 12 personal bests among the 16 competitors, but the winner took it easy. World leader Yomif Kejelcha of Ethiopia, the 2013 World Youth 3k champ and this year’s World Junior 5k champ, won at 8:05.95 – nearly 30 seconds off his best as he clearly cruised much of the race. Moses Koech of Kenya was 2nd at 8:06.50, just a tick off his World #3 time. Koech is also currently ranked #2 in the 5000 meters with a best of 13:34.
Boys 110m Hurdles
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
Jaheel Hyde (Jamaica) looked impressive with his 13.16 heat 1 win, improving on his 13.19 World Youth lead run on March 9! He is the 2014 IAAF World Junior Champion in the 400m Hurdles, running 49.29 last month in Eugene, and also the 2013 World Youth champ at 110H. Amere Lattin (Fort Bend Marshall, Missouri City, TX), improved on his Youth Olympic Trials winning time of 13.73, hitting 13.53 for 2nd in his heat to qualify for the “A” final.
Boys High Jump
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; last 7 qualify for the “B” final)
Five cleared 6-10.75 with the winner being World Youth leader Danil Lysenko (Russia). He had no misses. His European Youth Olympic Trials win of 7-4.25 is the current world leader. He finished 6th at the IAAF World Junior Champs in Eugene, clearing 7-3.25.
Boys Discus (1.75kg)
(4 Qualifying Attempts; first 8 make the “A” final; second 8 make the “B” final)
Hometown favorite Yulong Cheng led the qualifiers with a toss of 196-5. He has thrown 208-10. The second best throw was from Clemens Prufer of Germany, heaving the disc the same as Cheng, but having a lesser secondary throw. Prufer is ranked #2 in the world with a best of 213-4. Tyler Merkley (Los Osos, Rancho Cucamonga, CA) had only one legal throw, but it was good enough to qualify 5th overall, with a personal best of 185-8.
