LIMA (Peru) – 31 August 2024:
Triple jumper Sharifa Davronova, one of the four reigning champions from Cali’22 competed here by successfully retaining the Gold before the curtains rung down at Videna de Atletismo after five days of fierce battle in the 20th edition of World Athletics U20 Championships.
Davronova (18) was briefly disappointed at the start when she fouled her opening jump. Incidentally, three of her six jumps were annulled invalid as she breached the plasticine on all those occasions.
However, the Uzbek jumper logged a valid 13.56m in the second round, sufficient to earn her the gold in Lima. Davornova, however, improved her mark to 13.64 and 13.75m in the last two rounds to confirm her authority as champion.
China’s Li Yi opened with a brilliant 13.55m early lead, which remained her best jump in the competition and secured a silver medal. Similarly, Italian Erika Saraceni also registered her best mark of 13.47m in the first round to pocket the bronze medal.
Davronova leaped 14.04m for the gold in Cali and also won the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year by landing at 14.09m. She holds a legal best 14.23m achieved in 2023, besides a wind-aided 14.30m from 2022.
Davronova became the second athlete to win the back-to-back gold in the triple jump after Cuba’s Dailenys Alcantara, who achieved this honour in 2008-2010.
Zhang Jiale hammered to Gold:
The reigning Asian U20 champion Zhang Jiale nailed the gold on her first throw, which measured 68.95m. The 17-year-old, who represents the Shandong Zhongtai Securities club in her national competitions, achieved a personal best and world U20 leading mark of 72.25m last month in Huaian. In Dubai, she took the Asian junior title with 66.79m. Jiale became the first Asian to win a women’s hammer throw title in the World U20 championships history.
China’s Asian U20 silver medalist Fang Ling was replaced by Li Zehan in Lima. However, this did not help, as Zehan finished ninth (60.79m), just ahead of Korea’s Kim Tae-hui, who finished tenth (60.49m).
Cyprus girl Valentina Savva (67.21m) and Hungarian Villo Viszkeleti (64.94m) were the silver and bronze medalists here.
Boonson anchored the Thai sprint relay quartet to bronze:
Puripol Boonson, who earlier won a silver medal in 100m, anchored Thailand’s National U20 relay quartet in the 4 x 100m relay. The team, comprising Wirayut Daenkhanob, Sarawut Nuansi, Chutithat Pruksorranan, and Puropol Boonson, clocked a new National U20 record time of 39.39 secs for bronze.
Teams from Jamaica (39.18s) and Great Britain (39.20s) posted season-best timings to claim the gold and silver medals in that event.
In the Asian U20 championships, the team representing Hong Kong, China, won the gold in 39.67 secs. The boys from Thailand finished outside the medal bracket in Dubai. However, Hong Kong team finished eighth in Lima (40.26s) while Korea with a time of 39.80 secs finished sixth.
A Japanese U20 team won the gold in the 4 x 100m relay during the previous edition at Cali with a fantastic time of 39.35 secs. However, team Japan was disqualified in the qualifying rounds in Lima.
In other events, Japan’s Soma Nagahara finished fifth in the 3,000m Steeplechase (8:30.37 PB) and Uzbekistan’s Barnokhon Sayfullayeva sixth in the high jump (1.84m).
United States won the men’s 4 x 400m relay gold in 3:05.22, in which the teams from Japan (3:06.94) and India (3:08.76) finished fifth and sixth respectively.
Ram. Murali Krishnan for Asian Athletics
Photo: Tony Dou
