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Next stop Lima! European U18 and U20 winners bid for world U20 gold

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No fewer than 16 gold medallists from the European Athletics U18 Championships in Banska Bystrica last month feature on the entry-lists for the World Athletics U20 Championships in Lima, Peru from 27-31 August.

More than 1700 athletes from 134 teams are due to compete and many of the European winners are likely to be in contention for the women’s and men’s Rising Star awards - the long-lists will be revealed in mid-September - with the winners to be crowned at the Golden Tracks in Skopje, North Macedonia on 26 October.

And expect to see many of the medallists next week in action at next year’s European Athletics U23 and U20 Championships which will take place in Bergen and Tampere respectively next summer. 

Who to watch in Lima?

Among the 16 individual champions who won gold in Banska Bystrica, none was more impressive than Michal Rada who decimated the European U18 best in the 400m hurdles, winning gold over the 84.0cm barriers in 49.42 to take 0.96 off the previous mark.

The hurdles at U20 level are set at the senior regulation height of 91.4cm but Rada, who is one of the youngest athletes entered for the 400 hurdles, has already broken the 50 second-barrier with 49.89 which makes him the sixth fastest on the entry-list.

Rada provided the second-half of a family double in the 400m hurdles with his victory succeeding that of his twin sister Nina Radova who won the women’s 400m hurdles title in 58.00. Like Michal, Nina will also be in action in Lima.

Czechia enjoyed an excellent campaign at the European U18 Championships, winning four gold medals to finish third on the medal table. And their other two champions from Banska Bystrica - Adela Holubova (800m) and Filip Toul (800/1500m) - will also be in action.

And it could be another excellent championships for the Czechs in Lima as their team also includes three reigning European U20 champions: Lurdes Gloria Manuel (400m), Karolina Jarasova (3000m steeplechase) and Jakub Dudycha (800m). Manuel and Dudycha are ranked first and third in their respective events and both competed for Czechia at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

A busy programme in store for rising star Valensin

Rising Italian sprint star Elisa Valensin came away with two gold medals at the European U18 Championships, winning 200m gold in a championship best of 23.09 before anchoring Italy to gold in the sprint medley relay in a European U18 best of 2:05.23.

But a different programme awaits the precocious and versatile 17-year-old in Lima. Valensin has entered the individual 400m - she clocked 52.50 in her first and only recorded race at the distance earlier this year - and is expected to be part of Italy’s team in the mixed 4x400m and women’s 4x100m.

Italy won eight gold medals in Banska Bystrica and another of the champions Diego Nappi - who sped to gold in the men’s 200m - will be part of Italy’s 4x100m team.

Other European U18 track champions who are due to compete in Lima include 100m winners Jakob Kemminer from Germany and Bulgaria’s Radina Velichkova, Poland’s 400m winner Stanisław Strzelecki in the 4x400m and 3000m champion Aldin Catovic from Serbia who contests the 1500m.

Barbic in focus in the javelin 

Croatia’s Vita Barbic produced a rare double at the European U18 Championships by winning bronze in the discus and gold in the javelin on the very same day.

“Some people think that one event makes the other one weaker,” said Barbic in a recent interview with European Athletics. “But for me, it wasn’t the case. Both of them are going great.”

Barbic will be focusing solely on the javelin in Lima and the Croatian, who turned 17 earlier this month, will be a medal contender with the heavier weight javelin after winning U18 gold in Banska Bystrica with a world U18 lead of 61.07m with the 500g implement.

Recently crowned U18 champions are well represented in the field events in Lima. Also watch out for fellow gold medallists Lilianna Batori from Hungary (high jump), Latvia’s Brenda Apsite (triple jump), Greece’s Maria Rafailidou (shot put) along with Germans Nadjela Wepiwe (discus) and Clara Hegemann (hammer). 

European U18 and U20 champions aiming for a hat-trick

Some familiar names will also be aiming to cap their junior careers with world U20 titles having won European U18 and U20 titles in back-to-back years.

Mykhaylo Brudin has won European U18 and U20 titles in the discus in successive years and this will be his last chance to add the world U20 title to his burgeoning medal collection. The Ukrainian won bronze two years ago at the age of 17.  

Likewise, Valentina Savva has put Cyprus on the athletics map with her exploits in the hammer and the European U18 and U20 hammer champion will go in search of world U20 gold in Lima after just missing out on a medal two years ago in fourth.

Germans Frederick Weigel and Amadeus Graber will also be aiming for a third major title in as many years in the 10,000m race walk and decathlon respectively while Polish sprinter Marek Zakrzewski - who became the first male sprinter since 1991 to complete a 100/200m double at the European U20 Championships - will be aiming for his first global medal in the sprints in Lima.

Steven Mills for European Athletics




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