World Junior Championships Notes - Day 2 Morning
A blog of the experiences of Jim Spier throughout the World Juniors.
Day 2 Morning
The Stadium — this was the site of the first IAAF World Youth Champs in 1999. I was not here for that event, though I have been to this stadium before. It has been converted from a WPA-like project to a world class facility. It's as good as any stadium I've been to anywhere.
The Announcers — As with any IAAF World Championship event there are two announcers; one for that of the host country and one in English. The English language announcer is Marton Gyulai, the son of the former IAAF secretary (now deceased) Istvan Gyulai. He is Hungarian, but attended Notre Dame U, so he is well versed in English, including many American colloquialisms. In short, he's very good.
Our hotel - About as spartan as you get. It is called the Agat Spa and is better classified as an Inn. The rooms are tiny and the shower (no bathtub) tinier. But it's OK; one learns to live with it. I came back from the meet last night and noticed that my room had not been touched. The towel was still on the floor in the bathroom, the bed was unmade, and the garbage was not emptied. It was too late (and I was too tired) to make a fuss over it. So this morning I told the front desk about it and the young girls said, "Sure, we can clean your room. What's your room number?" I suppose you have to remind them to do so. The positive is that the breakfast is terrific with local breads, cheese and meat.
Recap of Day 1 for US team:
Women
100 — Shayla Mahan and Janeba Tarmoh advanced to semis; both advanced to finals.
400 — Jessica Beard and Lanie Whitaker advanced to semis.
800 — no semifinalists
5000 — Catherine White and Ashley Higginson finished 11th and 12th in a field of 12.
3000 steeple — no finalists
HJ — Shanay Briscoe advanced to finals.
TJ — no finalists
JT — no finalists
HT — no finalists
Men
100 — Terrell Wilks and Antonio Sales advanced to semis; Wilks advanced to finals.
400 — O'Neal Wilder and Marcus Boyd advanced to semis
800 — Elijah Greer advanced to semis
1500 — Evan Jager advanced to finals
LJ — Marquise Goodwin and Christian Taylor advanced to finals. Both have excellent chances to medal.
SP — no finalists
DT — no finalists
Wednesday Morning events
Men 400h - Jeshua Anderson had an easy time qualifying, winning his heat in 51.12. Johnny Dutch ran equally relaxed and won his heat easily. Both athletes are the only ones entered in the meet who have bettered 50 seconds.
Women 400h - Kori Carter did not advance, but Tekecia Jameson did.
Pole Vault - Both Rachel Laurent and Leslie Brost advanced to the final, with Laurent clearing 13-1.5 and Brost clearing about 12-9.
