Day three of the Lima 24 World Athletics U20 Championships will again offer an action-packed programme.
Here are three things to look out for at Estadio Atlético de la Videna on Thursday (29th).
A spectacular 400m showdown
Eight finals and the first half of the decathlon are scheduled for the day, with the two most anticipated races coming last: the men's and women's 400m finals, which will announce to the world the promising senior stars of the one-lap event.
The women's final is likely to be a close contest with little difference between the medallists. Lourdes Gloria Manuel of the Czech Republic, who competed in the Paris Olympics, was the fastest in the semi-finals, beating Ella Onoyuwewo of Nigeria (51.99) in 51.91. Zaya Akins of the United States won the first semi-final with a strong 52.11, while Elisa Valencin took second place in an Italian U20 record of 52.23. Diana Proctor of Canada won the other semi-final with a strong PB of 52.59.
The men's 400 metres will likely be a showdown between the American pair Jayden Davis and Sidi N'Jie. Davis won his first semifinal in 45.79 seconds, while N'Jie, the US U-20 champion, ran out of steam at the finish line in his semifinal to win in 46.56 seconds. Japan's Kentaro Shirahata will be in the running for a medal after a commanding win in the other semifinal in 46.30 seconds.
WU20 Lima 24 Sprint Event Preview
Men's 80m Javelin Final
There's plenty of action on Wednesday, and the men's javelin may be the event to watch, pitting Slovenia's Tom Tersek against China's Wang Xiaobo. Wang blew through the heats with a throw of 73.83m and Tersek 73.37m. Tersek set a Slovenian U-20 record of 80.87m in June and then added 79.44m to win the U-20 national title. Xiaobo set his own U-20 record of 80.61m last year and this year placed third at the Chinese championships with 76.84m.
Germany's Oskar Jannicke set a new personal best of 73.02m in the heats and could be in a tough battle alongside Ukraine's Ilya Sayevskiy, who set a new personal best of 75.80m in May.
In the men's hammer final, Cyprus' Iosef Kesidis will be looking to improve on the bronze medal he won in Cali two years ago. Having thrown 78.53m in the heats, it would not be a surprise if he breaks the national U-20 record of 81.07m.
The women's pole vault final could be dominated by American pair Hannah Grace and Molly Heywood, who both cleared 4.40m at the U20 national championships, while the men's triple jump is likely to be dominated by New Zealand Olympian Ethan Olivier, who jumped 17.01m, more than half a metre better than his rivals.
WU20 Lima 24 Slow Event Preview
Long-distance powerhouses collide
There will be two middle-distance finals on the track – the women's 3000m steeplechase and the men's 3000m – and it would be a major shock if the winner went to a country other than Kenya or Ethiopia.
Ethiopia has won the men's 3,000m twice in the past but Kenya has won the previous five and the Kenyan duo of Clinton Kimutai Ngetich and Dennis Kipkoech will be tough to beat here with personal bests of 7:48.09 and 7:48.48 respectively. Ethiopia's Iveltal Gashahun and Abraha Gebru came in first and second at the national U-20 trials and should perform strongly, while Norway's Andreas Fjeld Halvorsen and the Netherlands' Juan Zijderlaan both ran 7:51.
Kenya has won the women's 3,000m steeplechase title nine times out of 10 times, with the only exception being Kenyan-born Ruth Jebet's victory in Bahrain in 2014, but this year should be the year that Ethiopia, a rising power in the event, finally wins gold.
Sembo Almayew was by far the fastest with a season's best time of 9:00.83 and will be looking to beat the silver medal she won in Cali two years ago, and looks poised to do just that after winning the heats with ease in 9:30.59. Lois Chekwemoi of Uganda was the second-fastest of the finalists with a personal best of 9:24.47.
WU20 Lima 24 Distance Event Preview
Cathal Dennehy at the World Athletics Championships
