Friday Summaries from the 2014 Youth Olympics
2014 Youth Olympic Games – Day 3
Boys 200m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
Noah Lyles (TC Williams, Alexandria, VA) looked really sharp in winning heat 1 in 20.71, a personal best and a national U.S. prep sophomore class record – beating the 20.78 by Brendan Christian in 2000. That also moves him to #3 among US high schoolers for the year behind Trentavis Friday and Kendal Williams. Baboloki Thebe of Botswana was the only other athlete under 21 seconds, winning his heat in 20.99.
Boys 800m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
Myles Marshall (Kingwood, TX) took his heat in a relaxed fashion, winning in 1:50.22. Bacha Mulata (Ethiopia), coming in with a 1:47.10, won his heat in 1:51.18. Anthony Kiptoo of Kenya with a 1:46.8h best, faded in the homestretch in heat 3, managing only 1:52.55, and not qualifying for the “A” final.
Boys 400m Hurdles
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
Favorite Zu Zhihang of China had the fastest qualifying time, running 50.79 to win heat 1. He is the world leader at 50.74. Witthawat Thumcha from Thailand, the #2 ranked hurdler at 51.01, won his heat in 51.80.
Boys Pole Vault
(First 8 make the “A” final; next 8 make the “B” final)
Four athletes cleared 16-0.75 to lead the qualifiers. Among them was the leading entrant, #3 world ranked Hussain Al Hizam (Saudi Arabia), who has a personal best of 17-5.5.
Boys Triple Jump
(4 qualifying attempts; first 9 make the “A” final; next 8 make the “B” final)
The leader was favorite Miguel Van Assen (Surinam) at 53-5.5, just off his #2 ranked mark of 53-7. Second was World #3 Nazim Babayev (Azerbaijan) with a jump of 51-4.25. His best is 53-1.
Boys Javelin
(4 qualifying attempts; first 8 make the “A” final; next 8 make the “B” final)
The favorite, Jiabo Xiang (China), coming in ranked #2 in the world at 258-2, could manage only 224-8 and will not make the “A” final. The top 6 competitors got personal bests, led by Alexandru Novac (Romania), who threw 254-7, nine feet further than his prior best. Behind him was Emin Oncel (Turkey) at 254-5.
Girls 200m
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
Natalliah Whyte (Jamaica), coming into the meet with a #5-ranked 23.36 and as the fastest entrant, had the fastest time of the day, winning heat 3 in 23.79. Dzhois Koba (Ukraine) won heat 2 in 23.88, and Maureen Thomas (Kenya) edged Brandee Johnson (Nansemond River, Suffolk, VA) in heat 1, 24.33 to 24.41.
Girls 1500m
(First 10 qualify for the “A” final; next 9 qualify for the “B” final)
The top two entered, Kokeb Alemu (Ethiopia) and Winfred Mbithe (Kenya) finished 1-2 in the second heat, with Alemu edging Mbithe 4:21.87 to 4:22.57. Konstanze Klosterhalfen of Germany won the first heat in 4:22.00.
Girls 400m Hurdles
(First 8 qualify for the “A” final; others qualify for the “B” and “C” finals)
Gezelle Magerman (South Africa) broke 60 seconds for the first time to lead the qualifiers. She beat Elleen Demes of Germany by .01, running 58.57. Michaela Peskova (Slovakia) won the other heat in 59.44.
Girls Triple Jump
(4 qualifying attempts; first 7 make the “A” final; next 7 make the “B” final)
The top 2 ranked girls in the world finished first and third, with a big PR for Australia’s Tay-Leiha Clark, moving her to second. Clark, whose prior best was 41-3.75, improved to 42-8 on her second jump. The winner, and still world leader, was Yanis David of France, jumping 42-10.25. Tatiana Blagoveshchenskaia of Russia was third in 42-2.25. Chinne Okoronkwo (Mountlake Terrace, WA) could manage only 39-5.75 to finished 13th in the 14-girl field.
Girls Javelin
(4 qualifying attempts; first 9 make the “A” final; next 9 make the “B” final)
The world leader, Eda Tugsuz of Turkey, coming in with a best of 193-5, had only one legal throw at 156-8 and will not be in the “A” final. The winner was Hanna Tarasiuk (Belarus) at 182-0, followed by Fabienne Schonig (Germany) with 173-4, then Jo-Ane Van Dyke (South Africa) with a PB 172-7. Emma Fitzgerald (Thayer Academy, Braintree, MA) threw 153-0, well off her 168-1 best. She did have a right sector foul (her final throw) over 160, however.
