Double gold for Team USATF on day two of World U20 Championships

CALI, Colombia – A meet record in the mixed 4x400m relay and a huge lifetime best in the men's shot put gave Team USATF two golds Tuesday night on day two of the World Athletics U20 Championships at Pascual Guerrero Stadium.
 
Team USATF won its first gold of the Championships with another meet record in the mixed 4x400m relay. Running with three of the same athletes who clocked 3:18.65 in the heats yesterday, the Americans held off India to win in 3:17.69. Charlie Bartholomew (McKinney, Texas/USATF Southwestern) put the U.S. in great position with a stellar 45.1 split on the leadoff leg, handing off to Madison Whyte (Newport News, Virginia/USATF Virginia). Whyte maintained the lead with a 53.4 carry, and then Will Sumner (Canton, Georgia/USATF Georgia) did his part by splitting 46.1. Sumner narrowly averted disaster on the pass to Kennedy Wade (Seabrook, Texas/USATF Gulf), barely avoiding the infield clock after he handed off the baton. Wade showed great fortitude with her 53.1 lap, staving off a strong effort by India's Rupal, who earlier today was the second fastest qualifier in the prelims of the 400m. 
 
Only a few hours after automatically qualifying for the hammer final, Tarik O'Hagan (Woonsocket, Rhode Island/USATF New England) blasted a lifetime best 20.30m/66-7.25 on his opening attempt in the men's shot put final. He followed that with a 20.03m/65-8.75 and then a foul before another big improvement to 20.73m/68-0.25 to take the lead and move to No. 10 on the all-time U.S. U20 performer list. That throw held up to earn O'Hagan gold, the first individual gold of the Championships for the U.S. All five of his legal throws went out past 20m/65-7.5 and O'Hagan became the third man to win World U20 shot put gold for the United States.
 
In the men's long jump, Curtis Williams (Tallahassee, Florida/USATF Florida) bookended his six attempts with lifetime bests of 7.82m/25-8 in round one and 7.86m/25-9.5 in the sixth round to finish just off the podium in fourth. Johnny Brackins (Lee's Summit, Missouri/USATF Missouri Valley) was sixth with a best of 7.81m/25-7.5 on his initial attempt.
 
Running next to the world U20 record holder in the first semi of the men's 100m, Laurenz Colbert (Bowie, Maryland/USATF Potomac Valley) finished third in 10.29 and nabbed one of the time qualifier berths in the final. Michael Gizzi (Covington, Georgia/USATF Georgia) was fourth in the second semi at 10.30 and did not advance. In the final, Colbert finished seventh in 10.24 as Botswana's Letsile Tebogo broke his own world U20 record with a 9.91.
 
Slower through the first 400m than the previous semi, the second section of the women's 800m had world U20 leader Juliette Whittaker (Laurel, Maryland/USATF Potomac Valley) running off the shoulder of the leaders until she came off the final bend. Whittaker did just enough to ensure she finished in the top two to automatically advance, placing second in 2:01.92, just .002 behind Abigail Ives of Great Britain, who won in the same time. In a contrast of styles, Roisin Willis (Stevens Point, Wisconsin/USATF Wisconsin) went aggressively to the front in the final semi and led through 400m in 59.60. Fighting off challenges from half the field over the final circuit, Willis finished very well to win convincingly in 2:02.49.
 
There were mixed fortunes for the U.S. men over the 39-inch barriers in the 110m hurdles. Malik Mixon (College Park, Georgia/USATF Georgia) struggled through the first half of the second semi before coming on strong and sprinting off the final barrier to claim the second automatic qualifying spot in a lifetime best of 13.52. TJ Caldwell (Pittsburg, Kansas/USATF Missouri Valley) got out very quickly in the third semi and had the lead before colliding with the fifth hurdle and losing his rhythm. Caldwell kept pushing through but hit more barriers and finished sixth in 13.79, missing out on the final.
 
After a recalled start in heat five of the women's 100m, Shawnti Jackson (Wake Forest, North Carolina/USATF North Carolina) burst to the front and raced to an 11.28 to win and match her lifetime best. In the final section, Mia Brahe-Pedersen (Lake Oswego, Oregon/USATF Oregon) made a late charge past Spain's Elena Guiu to win by .01 in 11.45.
 
Ranked number two and number four coming in, the U.S. women's 400m hurdlers had little trouble making it through to the next round. Michaela Rose (Suffolk, Virginia/USATF Virginia) used a strong final bend to move into the lead and then run away with heat four in 58.44. Rose was a step behind Germany's Vivienne Morgenstern through the first five hurdles but picked up ground over the next two barriers before pulling away. Akala Garrett (Charlotte, North Carolina/USATF North Carolina) was within a stride of the leader throughout heat three and she held her form through the finish to place second in 58.40.
 
Qualifying for the semifinal in the women's 400m was top four in each heat and next four fastest times overall, and that allowed Mekenze Kelley (Stone Mountain, Georgia/USATF Georgia) to take it easy in heat three, placing third in 53.59 to move on. Zaya Akins (Kansas City, Missouri/USATF Missouri Valley) was in the outside lane in the next heat and finished fifth in 55.23 to earn the next-to-last time qualifier spot.
 
As befits the fastest U20 400m athlete in the world this year, Steven McElroy (Pickerington, Ohio/USATF Ohio) controlled heat four from start to finish and won easily in 46.38. In heat five 
Ashton Schwartzman (Wautoma, Wisconsin/USATF Wisconsin) loped through the first 200m before pushing his pace around the final bend and placing second in 46.76 to advance.
 
Men's pole vaulters Garrett Brown (Carlsbad, California/USATF San Diego-Imperial) and Justin Rogers (Hershey, Pennsylvania/USATF Mid-Atlantic) both qualified for the final as Brown had a clear card through 5.20m/17-0.75 and Rogers went over 5.05m/16-6.75 first time. Brown was one of only three athletes who cleared 5.20m/17-0.75.
 
Just like in the shot put yesterday, it only took one throw for Tarik O'Hagan to move on to the final of the men's hammer. O'Hagan launched a 73.51m/241-2 to surpass the auto qualifying mark by one centimeter. Collin Burkhart (Nazareth, Pennsylvania/USATF Mid-Atlantic) had a best of 70.84m/232-5 to place sixth in Group A and 14th overall, missing the final by two places.
 
Medals won by Team USATF
 
Gold (2)
Mixed 4x400m relay, 3:17.69 (CR) (Charlie Bartholomew, Madison Whyte, Will Sumner, Kennedy Wade)
 
Men’s shot put, 20.73m (Tarik O’Hagan) 
 
Silver (0)
 
Bronze (0)
 
A full list of results can be found here. 
 
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