Get ready… five days of competition at the Lima 24 World Athletics U20 Championships gets underway on Tuesday (27th), with around 1,700 athletes from over 130 teams competing for the age group championships.
Here are three of the many things to look out for on opening day at the Estadio Atlético de la Videna.
The first champion is born
Four finals will be held on the first day of competition in Lima, with the winner of the women's 5,000 meters to be crowned the inaugural champion.
Ethiopia's Medina Eissa is fresh off a seventh-place finish at the Olympics and will defend the title she won in Cali in 2022. Having run the fastest time ever for an U-20 athlete in London last year with 14 minutes 16.54 seconds and also won the Marrakech Diamond League in May, she will start as the favourite to win.
Compatriot Mekedes Aremechete will be her biggest threat after winning the Suzhou Diamond League in April in 14:36.70, while other medal contenders include Kenya's Sheila Jebet and Mercy Chepkemoi.
The men's 5,000m title was also decided on the first day, with Kenya's Andrew Kiptoo Alamisi topping the entry list.
WU20 Lima 24 Distance Event Preview
A sport focused on shot put
The first field final of the championships will be the men's shot put, which will feature Dutch U20 record holder Jannik Rolvink, who leads the field by more than a metre. Rolvink threw 21.81 metres with a six kilogram implement last month and has also thrown over 19 metres in eight other competitions this year.
He will be tough to beat if he is anywhere near his peak, but US U-20 champion Ben Smith will be aiming to win another medal for his country, following on from compatriot Tarik Robinson-O'Hagan's victory in Cali two years ago. Others with medal ambitions, if they make it through the qualifying stages, include Georg Harpf of Germany and Aatu Kangasniemi of Finland.
WU20 Lima 24 Slow Event Preview
Teamwork makes the dream work
Two years ago in Cali, the United States won the mixed 4x400m in a world U-20 record time of 3:17.69. In Lima, Australia dominated the heats, with their foursome of Jordan Gilbert, Bella Pasquali, Jack Deguara and Sofia Gregorevic setting an Oceania U-20 record with a combined time of 3:21.10.
India, which won silver in Cali and bronze when the event made its debut at the World U-20 Championships in Nairobi in 2021, are looking to add to their medal hopes, with Poland also in the running.
The individual sprint competition will begin earlier in the day, with Paris Olympians Alana Reid and Bradley Nkoana competing in the 100m heats.
Nkoana was part of South Africa's men's 4x100m relay team that won silver in Paris, while Reid helped Jamaica to a fifth-place finish in the women's 4x100m relay.
WU20 Lima 2024 Relay Preview
