World Athletics U20 Championships 2024: South Africa's Bayanda Walaza wins 200m gold, completes sprint double

Bayanda Walaza had earlier won the men’s 100m title at World Athletics U20 Championships.

Track action from the fourth afternoon of the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima was highlighted by the completion of an epic sprints double for phenom Bayanda Walaza on Friday.

The South African sprinting sensation tonight added a win in the men’s 200m to his title in the 100m from earlier in the week. Walaza simply exploded out of the blocks and the high-quality start ensured he could not be caught by his competitors, finishing in 20.52 (-0.7m/s). He was part of South Africa’s silver medal-winning 4x100m team at the Olympics in Paris.

Australia’s Gout Gout did make a gallant effort to close the gap and his hard-charging finish earned him the silver in a PB of 20.60. The 16-year-old broke his own area U18 best and national U18 record with the time. Jake Odey-Jordan of Great Britain took the bronze in 20.81. Walaza took the lead after the curve and was in complete control from the start.

Walaza had earlier clocked 10.19 seconds to win gold in men’s 100m. The teenager is the first man to complete the sprint double at the championships in 26 years.

Also Read: World Athletics U20 Championships 2024: Czechia’s Tomas Jarvinen wins gold in men’s decathlon, breaks C’ship record

Ja’Kobe Tharp records personal best to take gold in men’s 110m hurdles at World Athletics U20 Championships 2024

After an impressive 13.11 semifinal performance, all eyes were on Ja’Kobe Tharp of the US in the men’s 110m hurdles final. Tharp exceeded all expectations, taking the win while delivering a 13.05 (-0.5m/s) lifetime best, a national U20 record over the 99cm hurdles, and a world U20 lead. 

“I knew to get the gold medal means my time was going to have to be faster and I came out and did that; that’s all I wanted,” said Tharp.

Life in the fast lane 😮‍💨🇺🇸's Ja'Kobe Tharp clocks the fastest U20 110m hurdles in the world this year on his way to the gold in Lima 👏#WorldAthleticsU20 pic.twitter.com/pkp4Zj1GGL

— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 31, 2024

Tharp is the first US athlete in eight years to earn the global U20 crown. The accomplishment completes an historic season as earlier this year he broke the area U20 record over senior height 110m hurdles and was second at the NCAA Championships. 

Andre Korbmacher arguably had a stronger start than his US compatriot, which helped him to earn the silver in a PB of 13.14. The 1-2 punch strengthened the US position at the top of the medal table. Chen Yuanjiang of China recorded a national U20 record of 13.21 to place third. 

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