Thrilling finishes highlight Day 3 of World Athletics U20 meet

On day three of the World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field, thrilling finishes highlighted the event. American Jayden DeLeon claimed the gold in the men's 400 meters, breaking South Africa's 400-meter dominance. DeLeon set a World U20 Championships meet record with a time of 44.47 seconds, narrowly beating Leedert Koekemoer of South Africa by 0.01 seconds.

Teen prodigy Quincy Wilson secured the silver with a season-best time of 44.62 seconds. Koekemoer took bronze with a time of 44.96 seconds. DeLeon expressed his joy by saying, "Man, this means the world to me. It's been a long, struggling road, and my training has been perfect." Despite silver medalist Quincy Wilson being the first individual medalist of his career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, he acknowledged that the last 100 meters was his "big one."

Before DeLeon and Wilson dominated the race, Le'ezza Brown took the lead in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a U.S. U20 record time of 12.89 seconds. Brown's wind-aided 12.82 (+2.7) in the semifinals helped him qualify for the finals. The fastest wind-legal time in the semifinals was set by Japan's Jeremy Koga with 12.95 seconds, followed by Zacchaeus Brocks (13.00 seconds).

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, South Africa's Tumi Ramokgopa and Jamaica's Tiana Marshall each ran 13.02 seconds to lead the field. American Mia Maxwell, the world U20 season champion, qualified for the finals with a time of 13.14 seconds.

In the men's triple jump final, future Kansas State teammates Michael-Andre Matthew Edwards and Mile Nesmith put on a thrilling finish. Edwards clinched the gold with a mark of 56 feet, ½ inch on his penultimate attempt, surpassing Nesmith's personal record. China's Zhuoyue Wang took the bronze with a mark of 53-8¼.

The U.S. 100-meter champions, Tate Taylor and Mia Maxwell, advanced to the 200-meter final. Both earned their spots in the finals with ease. Taylor ran 20.34 seconds in the semifinals and Blake Hamilton won his heat with a time of 20.38 seconds. Jamaica's Gary Card qualified for the finals in 20.64 seconds, and he is the current world U20 leader. Maxwell ran 22.87 seconds in the women's semifinal heat, edging out world leader Shanoya Douglas of Jamaica, who won silver in the 100-meter hurdles.