Guyana’s Onesi Dunn and Athaleyha Hinckson missed out on places in the 100-metre finals, while Olivia Solomon established a new national Under-20 record in the women’s 800 metres as the country began its World Athletics Under-20 Championships campaign yesteday in Oregon, USA.
Dunn finished ninth in a fast men’s 100m semifinal, clocking 10.48 seconds. Jamaica’s Gary Card won the race in 10.16 seconds, ahead of Malaysia’s Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee, who recorded 10.36.
Slovakia’s Richard Machata and South Africa’s Mukona Manavhela both clocked 10.38, while Switzerland’s Akira Eghagha and Great Britain’s James Arminio followed in 10.39.
Hinckson came closer to advancing, placing fourth in the third women’s 100m semifinal in 11.50 seconds.
Jamaica’s Shanoya Mikalia Douglas won the heat in 11.21 seconds, while American Mahai Maxwell secured second place in 11.25. Germany’s Emma Goretzka claimed third in 11.40, leaving Hinckson just outside the qualifying places.
Earlier in the day, Dunn had produced a strong performance in the opening round, finishing second in heat three in 10.38 seconds. He was only one-hundredth of a second behind Brazil’s Michael Cruz, who won in 10.37. Botswana’s Wahza Matakule placed third in 10.39 as all three advanced.
Dunn’s compatriot Gordon Thompson did not progress after placing eighth in heat two with a time of 10.77 seconds. Great Britain’s Jake Odey-Jordan won that heat in 10.38, followed by Nigeria’s Tejiri Godwin and Slovakia’s Machata, who both clocked 10.39.
Hinckson also advanced comfortably from the women’s opening round after running 11.31 seconds for second place in heat two. St Lucia’s Jady Emmanuel won in a personal-best 11.28, while Australia’s Maya Taber secured the third automatic qualifying position in 11.39.
National U20 800m record
Solomon provided another bright moment for Guyana by clocking a national Under-20 record of two minutes, 6.55 seconds in the women’s 800m heats. Although she finished sixth in heat three, her time was quick enough to earn her a semifinal place as one of the next-fastest qualifiers.
Greece’s Ioulianna Roussou won the heat in 2:04.47, with Australia’s Ivy Boothroyd and the United States’ Paige Sheppard finishing second and third respectively.
Solomon will contest the 800m semifinals on August 8, with the first three athletes from each of the three races advancing to the final.
Attention will now turn to Guyana’s star quarter-miler Malachi Austin, who will compete in the men’s 400m heats on Thursday. Austin enters the event as one of the leading contenders, having run a personal best and Guyana national record of 44.87 seconds at the NCAA East Regional in Lexington, Kentucky, on May 29.
That performance makes Austin the fourth-fastest Under-20 athlete in the world over 400m this year.
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