2015 WY Champs 7/18 Morning Report: Davis, Christensen shine; relays begin
World Youth Champs – Day 4 morning
Long Jump Qualifying – Women
Tara Davis (Agoura, CA) got the auto qualifier (20-00.25) on her first attempt, jumping 20-05.75, just ¼ inch off her personal best. She was the second leading qualifier overall.
Javelin Qualifying – Men
Liam Christensen (Mt. Pleasant, SC) came ever so close to qualifying. His first throw was an incredible 14-foot PR, out at 238-2 (72.60m). He had thrown a PR in Lisle of 224-4 to make the team. He was 14th in an event where there were 12 automatic qualifiers (those throwing 239-6 or better). It was best ever performance by an American at a World Youth Championship. Here are the previous U.S. qualifiers and their distances:
1999 Justin McKnight 58.70 20th
Jason Koch 53.34 26th
2001 Dustin Johnson 57.10 10th (59.56 in qualifying)
2003 Chad Brown 69.08 7th (72.59, leading qualifier)
2005 Daniel Haddock 39.57 27th
2007 no U.S. athletes made the entry standard
2009 Devin Bogert 70.61 7th
Chris Rodriguez 65.77 17th
2011 no U.S. athletes made the entry standard
2013 no U.S. athletes made the entry standard
2015 Liam Christensen 72.60 14th
Mixed 4x400m Relay
The first time this has been contested at any world championships. It was quite interesting, to say least. There are 2 boys and 2 girls, and they can run in any order. The U.S. was the leading qualifier by more than 2 seconds, running 3:22.65. The team was comprised of: Keshun Reed (Martin, Arlington, TX – 48.3), Symone Mason (Southridge, Miami, FL – 52.6), Cory Poole (East Orange, NJ – 48.3) and Lynna Irby (Pike, Indianapolis, IN – 53.3).
Heptathlon – Day 2
Both Americans achieved personal bests in the Long Jump, Jordan Fields jumping 18-4.5 and Caice Lanovaz 18-1, moving up in the rankings as a result.
Here are the top 3 long jumps from today:
20-04.25 Sarah Lagger Austria
20-00.25 Lisa Maihofer Germany
19-01.5 Tereza Vokalova Czech Republid
Here are the standings after 5 events:
1. Lisa Maihofer Germany 4470
2. Sarah Lagger Austria 4452
3. Adriana Rodriguez Cuba 4425
4. Andrea Obetzhofer Austria 4349
23. Caice Lanovaz USA 3837
26. Jordan Fields USA 3792
Caice Lanovaz got a PR in the javelin (115-10) while Jordan Fields did not perform well. Both moved down in the rankings. Note below how well the rest of the heptathletes in the world throw the javelin. It is a real sticking point for our athletes.
Here are the top 3 javelin throws from today:
179-00 Alina Shukh Ukraine
173-05 Geraldine Ruckstuhl Switzerland
152-05 Andrea Obetzhofer Austria
Here are the standings after 5 events:
1. Geraldine Ruckstuhl Switzerland 5180
2. Andrea Obetzhofer Austria 5141
3. Sarah Lagger Austria 5106
4. Alina Shukh Ukraine 5033
24. Caice Lanovaz USA 4415
30. Jordan Fields USA 4179
Day 2 comparisons between the World Youth Qualifying and World Youth Championships:
Caice Lanovaz (Foothill, Pleasanton, CA)
LJ JT 800m
WY 18-01 115-10
WY Trials 18-00.25 111-01 2:25.16
Jordan Fields (Creekside, St. Johns, FL)
LJ JT 800m
WY 18-4.5 82-11
WY Trials 18-02.5 91-03 2:22.08
Other winners from events in which no Americans competed:
Boys 10000m Racewalk, Sergey Shirobokov, Russia, 42:24.41
Girls 5000m Racewalk, Zhenxia Ma, China, 22:41.08