World U20 Champs: Britannia Johnson narrowly misses shot put final Loop Jamaica

Black Immigrant Daily News

Jamaicans Britannia Johnson and Rushana Dwyer failed to progress from their first-round competitions in the morning session on the opening day of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia on Monday.

Johnson, a student at Camperdown High, bowed out of the shot put qualification round after finishing sixth of the 12 throwers in Group A.

Johnson’s best effort was 14.44m and it placed her 13th overall, meaning she narrowly missed Tuesday’s final by only a spot.

The gold and silver medallists from last year’s championships in Nairobi will go head-to-head again in the final.

South Africa’s Mine de Klerk, the gold medal winner in Nairobi, and Turkey’s Pinar Akyol, who claimed the silver last year, have safely progressed to the final.

De Klerk won Group A of the qualification round with an effort of 16.11m, the second-best throw heading into the final.

Akyol (15.77m) finished second in Group B behind Uzbekistan’s Malika Nasreddinova, who won with a lifetime best throw of 16.13.

The 15.77m by Akyol represents the fourth throw going into the final.

Dwyer of Edwin Allen High could only manage seventh in the fifth and final heat of the women’s 800m. She completed the trip in 2:14.23 to finish 36 overall of the 38 competitors who competed over the five heats.

Australia’s Claudia Hollingsworth won the heat in 2:08.21.

Juliette Whittaker of the USA is the quickest going into the semifinals after winning heat three in 2:04.92.

Whittaker, 18, is the gold medal favourite following her PB of 1:59.04 which handed her the US U20 title in Eugene last month, the second time this year she has run below two minutes.

Turkey’s Dilek Kocak, who finished second to Whittaker in heat three, is the second-quickest with 2:05.37.

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