{"id":3024,"date":"2026-08-15T08:37:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-15T15:37:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=3024"},"modified":"2026-08-15T08:37:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-15T15:37:49","slug":"world-u20-the-future-is-bright","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=3024","title":{"rendered":"World U20 – The Future Is Bright"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The just concluded World U20 Championships was easily one of my favorite meets of the year. This is what the sport looks like whenever we get our best together to compete. A reminder that this should constantly be our goal, looking for ways to get our best athletes on the track. Both track AND field, because once again the field athletes showed that the best story opportunities are in the field. Multiple chances to perform leads to a give and take that is often electric in high level competition.<\/p>\n

Highlights in the Field<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Easily one of the best competitions of the meet was the men’s triple jump, where the top three set multiple PBs and traded the lead up to the final round. Resulting in an American high school record 16.79m for silver medalist Miles Nesmith, and a huge world lead of 17.02m for gold medalist Michael Matthew Edwards. A competition reminiscent of some of the best that we’ve seen on the senior stage. I’m thinking Christian Taylor v Will Claye in Doha 2019.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sprint Rivalries and Dominance<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of rivalries, the competition between the US and Jamaica in the sprints was alive and well between the juniors. On the men’s side we had Gary Card v Tate Taylor; for the women it was Mia Maxwell v Shanoya Douglas. The pre meet hype revolved around the Jamaican’s PBs and how much better they were than the Americans. However, I always say, times don’t run, people do, and the Americans simply ran better than the Jamaicans – four times. As both Taylor and Maxwell won 100\/200 doubles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Twice Maxwell \u00a0got ahead of Douglas early, then held her off to win. Most dramatically in the 200m where she blasted the turn for the lead and held off every attempt of Douglas in the stretch. Taylor simply used mid race acceleration that left Card and everyone else watching him pull away.\u00a0 <\/span>Taylor’s 9.94\/19.83 double was outstanding enough to be senior worthy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Relay and Barrier Precision<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Just as impressive was the 4×1 that Taylor anchored at the end of the meet. The foursome of Blake Hamilton, Dillon Mitchell, Kyler Brown and Tate Taylor blew the competition and the U20 WR out of the water with a 38.16 scorcher. They annihilated the previous record of 38.51 by South Africa as well as Britain’s 38.90 that was well back up the track in second! One of the best drilled American squads I’ve seen, junior or senior. A squad that executed their exchanges nearly flawlessly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the 110H American LeEzra Brown ran a near flawless race tieing the U20 WR of 12.72 while leading two others under 13.00. Brown had an average start then just stepped on the gas. Leaving the best field ever put together in U20 competition trailing in his wake. Brown will join the adult contingent next year that includes several men that have run under 13.00 over the slightly taller barriers. His development will be one to watch..<\/p>\n

The 400m Showdown<\/b><\/p>\n

The men\u2019s 400m provided a fascinating contrast in athlete trajectories. In one lane stood Quincy Wilson, the high school record holder who has been in the national spotlight for three years and earned a spot as an Olympic 4x400m alternate. In another lane was Jayden DeLeon, a powerful runner finding his top gear this season.<\/p>\n

Wilson edged DeLeon by just 0.01 seconds indoors, but DeLeon took the rematch at the US U20 Championships (44.52 to 44.84). Eugene served as the rubber match outdoors, with DeLeon holding on to win 44.47 to 44.62. DeLeon is bigger, physically mature, and ascending rapidly, while Wilson continues working to reset his baseline. With Wilson heading to Maryland and DeLeon to LSU, their collegiate rivalry next season will be must-watch track.<\/p>\n

My Takeaway\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

Typically we do not always get the best of America’s young talent competing in U20 Championships. USATF needs to do better by our youngsters and see that they get these types of development opportunities. This year with the Championships being at home, this was a no brainer, even for USATF, and the results were outstanding – 24 total medals, 12 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze, with 2 world records!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We need to ensure that our athletes get these opportunities on a regular basis. There is no excuse not to. This is part of the global development of nations across the globe, both big and small.\u00a0 <\/span>Outstanding results were the order of the day, as young athletes are proving that post Covid Trackflation is a reality. This championship was tremendous across the board, and as I said initially, the future of this sport is bright, at least from a competitive standpoint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The just concluded World U20 Championships was easily one of my favorite meets of the year. This is what the sport looks like whenever we get our best together to compete. A reminder that this should constantly be our goal, looking for ways to get our best athletes on the track. Both track AND field, because once again the field athletes showed that the best story opportunities are in the field. Multiple chances to perform leads to a give and take that is often electric in high level competition. Highlights in the Field\u00a0 Easily one of the best competitions of the meet was the men’s triple jump, where the top three set multiple PBs and traded the lead up to the final round. Resulting in an American high school record 16.79m for silver medalist Miles Nesmith, and a huge world lead of 17.02m for gold medalist Michael Matthew Edwards. A competition reminiscent of some of the best that we’ve seen on the senior stage. I’m thinking Christian Taylor v Will Claye in Doha 2019.\u00a0 Sprint Rivalries and Dominance\u00a0 Speaking of rivalries, the competition between the US and Jamaica in the sprints was alive and well between the juniors. On the men’s side we had Gary Card v Tate Taylor; for the women it was Mia Maxwell v Shanoya Douglas. The pre meet hype revolved around the Jamaican’s PBs and how much better they were than the Americans. However, I always say, times don’t run, people do, and the Americans simply ran better than the Jamaicans – four times. As both Taylor and Maxwell won 100\/200 doubles.\u00a0 Twice Maxwell \u00a0got ahead of Douglas early, then held her off to win. Most dramatically in the 200m where she blasted the turn for the lead and held off every attempt of Douglas in the stretch. Taylor simply used mid race acceleration that left Card and everyone else watching him pull away.\u00a0 Taylor’s 9.94\/19.83 double was outstanding enough to be senior worthy.\u00a0 Relay and Barrier Precision\u00a0 Just as impressive was the 4×1 that Taylor anchored at the end of the meet. The foursome of Blake Hamilton, Dillon Mitchell, Kyler Brown and Tate Taylor blew the competition and the U20 WR out of the water with a 38.16 scorcher. They annihilated the previous record of 38.51 by South Africa as well as Britain’s 38.90 that was well back up the track in second! One of the best drilled American squads I’ve seen, junior or senior. A squad that executed their exchanges nearly flawlessly.\u00a0 In the 110H American LeEzra Brown ran a near flawless race tieing the U20 WR of 12.72 while leading two others under 13.00. Brown had an average start then just stepped on the gas. Leaving the best field ever put together in U20 competition trailing in his wake. Brown will join the adult contingent next year that includes several men that have run under 13.00 over the slightly taller barriers. His development will be one to watch.. The 400m Showdown The men\u2019s 400m provided a fascinating contrast in athlete trajectories. In one lane stood Quincy Wilson, the high school record holder who has been in the national spotlight for three years and earned a spot as an Olympic 4x400m alternate. In another lane was Jayden DeLeon, a powerful runner finding his top gear this season. Wilson edged DeLeon by just 0.01 seconds indoors, but DeLeon took the rematch at the US U20 Championships (44.52 to 44.84). Eugene served as the rubber match outdoors, with DeLeon holding on to win 44.47 to 44.62. DeLeon is bigger, physically mature, and ascending rapidly, while Wilson continues working to reset his baseline. With Wilson heading to Maryland and DeLeon to LSU, their collegiate rivalry next season will be must-watch track. My Takeaway\u00a0 Typically we do not always get the best of America’s young talent competing in U20 Championships. USATF needs to do better by our youngsters and see that they get these types of development opportunities. This year with the Championships being at home, this was a no brainer, even for USATF, and the results were outstanding – 24 total medals, 12 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze, with 2 world records!\u00a0 We need to ensure that our athletes get these opportunities on a regular basis. There is no excuse not to. This is part of the global development of nations across the globe, both big and small.\u00a0 Outstanding results were the order of the day, as young athletes are proving that post Covid Trackflation is a reality. This championship was tremendous across the board, and as I said initially, the future of this sport is bright, at least from a competitive standpoint.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[672,670,671,15,622],"class_list":["post-3024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-deleon","tag-leezra","tag-maxwell","tag-taylor","tag-world-u20"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa3DCY-MM","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2685,"url":"http:\/\/trackchill.com\/?p=2685","url_meta":{"origin":3024,"position":0},"title":"What’s Next?","author":"CHill","date":"July 31, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a different kind of season with the World Championships being held in the middle of July. 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