Eugene medal haul not an underperformance

It is now history as the 40th staging of the World Under-20 Championships came to an end in Eugene, Oregon, on Sunday, with hosts the United States dominating the medal table with 24 medals – 12 gold, seven silver, and five bronze ­– for their best-ever performance at the championships.

As they did two years ago in Lima, Peru, Jamaica finished among the top four countries on the medal table, ending with eight medals, comprising two gold, three silver, and three bronze, to equal the country’s third-best medal haul in the history of the championships.

As usual, Jamaican fans expected more medals, but the team did not underperform. The Sunday Gleaner had projected a return of between five and eight medals before the team’s departure, and that target was achieved.

There were, however, high expectations that Jamaica would surpass the four gold medals won in Lima, with Shanoya Douglas, the top seed in the women’s 100 and 200 metres, Joseph Salmon, the world leader in the discus, and both 4x100m relay teams expected to strike gold.

Standout performance

In the end, only Michael-Andre Edwards captured an individual gold medal, winning the men’s triple jump. Ranked fourth entering the event, Edwards produced a lifetime best and world-leading 17.08 metres to become the only under-20 athlete this season to surpass the 17-metre mark.

He became only the second Jamaican to win the event and the third overall to medal in it at the championships. Jaydon Hibbert won gold in Cali, Colombia, in 2022 with a national junior record 17.87m, and James Beckford won silver in 2024.

Edwards undoubtedly produced Jamaica’s standout performance of the championships.

With two individual silver medals and a gold as a member of the women’s 4x100m relay team, Douglas was Jamaica’s next-best performer.

After being upstaged by American Mia Maxwell in the 100m, where she finished second in 11.17 seconds to Maxwell’s 11.14, Douglas was unable to reproduce the winning form she displayed when she clocked 10.98 seconds in March.

The biggest surprise came in the 200m, where Douglas, the national junior record holder with 22.11 seconds, was expected to dominate. However, Maxwell maintained her form to defeat Douglas, who tightened up over the final 50 metres. Maxwell won in 22.68 seconds, with Douglas second in 22.77.

Douglas, however, bounced back strongly in the 4x100m relay, producing a brilliant anchor leg to carry Jamaica to victory in a world-leading 42.89 seconds.

The anticipated showdown with the United States did not materialise after the Americans were eliminated in the heats by Nigeria. Nigeria, who advanced to the final, were later disqualified for a false start, clearing the way for Jamaica to retain the title and secure a fourth consecutive victory in the event.

Gary Card also enjoyed a strong championships, winning bronze in the men’s 100m in 10.05 seconds before playing a crucial role in the men’s 4x100m relay team, which earned bronze in 39.01 seconds.

Tiana Marshall came very close to extending Jamaica’s winning tradition in the women’s 100m hurdles, following recent victories by Ackera Nugent and Kerrica Hill.

Ranked fourth in the event with a personal best of 12.98 seconds, Marshall gave it everything in the final, and, at one stage, looked capable of pulling off the victory. However, American Madeline Cooper, the world leader, rallied late from the inside lane to win in 12.91 seconds, equalling the world lead. South Africa’s Tumi Ramokgopa was second in 12.96, just ahead of Marshall, who claimed bronze in a personal-best 12.97.

In one of the most competitive field-event finals of the championships, 13 throwers attained the qualifying standard, and the lead changed hands several times. Joseph Salmon eventually won bronze with 64.37m, while teammate Kimari Kennedy, who entered the final as the 12th-best qualifier, produced a personal best 64.18m to finish fourth.

Personal bests

Several Jamaicans also produced personal bests during the championships, with three athletes achieving the feat in the 400m hurdles.

Shevaughn Thomas first ran a personal best 58.36 seconds in the women’s 400m hurdles preliminaries before lowering that mark significantly to 57.56 in the semi-finals. Her teammate, Maria Crossfield, clocked a personal best 58.22 in the preliminaries, and Jahvanie Tyrell ran a personal-best 49.98 in the semi-finals of the men’s event.

In the sprint hurdles, Marquies Page registered a personal best 13.34 seconds in the semi-finals of the men’s 110m hurdles, narrowly missing a place in the final.

Other personal bests came in the women’s 800m, where Kevongaye Fowler improved her time by more than three seconds, running a lifetime best 2:04.31 in the preliminaries. Joel Morgan also produced a personal best of 1:49.46 in the semi-finals of the men’s 800m.

Not everything went perfectly, however, and two coaching decisions on the opening day came under scrutiny from fans.

One was the decision to have Jabari Matheson compete in both rounds of the mixed 4x400m relay on the opening day, requiring him to return the following day for two more rounds of his individual event.

There were also questions about Fowler being allowed to contest the mixed 4x400m relay final after producing a massive personal best in the 800m, which would likely have taken a toll on her body. That decision may have cost Jamaica a medal as Fowler was edged on the line and Jamaica finished fourth.

Several members of the team will return to the championships in two years, and the experience gained in Eugene should prove invaluable. Among them are Fowler, Daniella Dixon, and Shameika McLean in the women’s 400m, as well as male quarter-miler Jason Pitter and discus thrower Kennedy.