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6th IAAF World Youth Championships - Sudtirol, Italy (8-12 July)
By Chris Wainwright
Australian Team
Australian will send a small but talented team of 22 athletes (7 girl's and 15 boy's) to Bressanone, Italy for the 2009 World Youth Championships. Australia has had some great success at recent World Youth Championships, with Chris Noffke (2005) and Vicky Parnov (2007) currently holding Championships records going into this years event. Noffke long jumped 7.95m (7.97m w-a) in 2005 to set the current record, while Parnov cleared 4.35m in the girl's pole vault.
So what's in line for our Australian Youth team in 2009? Well we take a look at some of the athletes who could feature over the 5 days of competition.
Medal Chances?
In all honesty we could easily leave Italy with no medals, although we do have athletes that are capable of coming back to Australia with a medal. They include:
Men's 800m - Alex Rowe (VIC): Rowe made a big breakthrough at the U/20 Australian Championships in April, where he ran a personal best of 1:49.64 (the first time he had broken 1:50 for the 800m). He has since run around 1:52 in pre-departure meetings, and is looking again to go under 1:50 in Italy.
At present Rowe is ranked 5th on world youth rankings lists for 2009, behind two Kenyans, a Cuban and an athlete from Qatar. The fastest Kenyan (Nicholas Kiplangat) ran an impressive 1:47.4h at his recent Kenyan trials, suggesting that the winner in Italy will need at least a sub 1:49.00 to have a chance at snatching the win. It is also important to note that there are always an athlete who comes from knowhere to run a fast time (maybe from a country such as Sudan or another African nation).
Where does this place Rowe? It certainly looks as though he will need to be in career best form to be anywhere near a medal, but if he can run around 1:49.00 then anything is possible.
2007 World Youth Championships Results:
Gold: Geoffrey Kibet (KEN) 1:49.99; Silver: Ali Al-Deran (KSA) 1:50.10; Bronze: Amin El Manaoui (MAR) 1:50.12
Men's 1500m - Kane Grimster (VIC): Well you would think that anybody who can run 3:47.94 for 1500m as a 17 year-old is a star in the making. Well that could be the case for Grimster, but the reality is that he could need to run in the low 3:40's to be anywhere near a medal in Italy. All looks promising for Grimster however, with some quality pre-departure time trials (including a 3:48 and 3:51 over 1500m and a 1:52 over 800m).
Internationally this year, the World Youth lists have Caleb Ndiku of Kenya leading the way with a 3:38.2h performance at the Kenyan trials. Following just behind the Kenyan is Mohamed Al-Garni of Qatar, with a best this year of 3:39.06. Grimster is currently ranked 4th on the world list, although there are no Ethiopians on the list (with at least one Ethiopian likely to come to Italy in sub 3:45 form).
So, as with Rowe, it would have to be said that Grimster will need to be at his very best to be in the medal hunt. Although if the final is more of a sit and sprint affair there will certainly be the chance for Grimster to be right in the mix. Either way, watch for a top-6 finish from this very talented athlete from Frankston in Victoria. (note: Ryan Gregson placed 5th at the 2007 World Youth Championships in 3:48.61)
2007 World Youth Championships Results:
Gold: Frederick Ndunge (KEN) 3:44.27; Silver: Josphat Kithii (KEN) 3:44.68; Bronze: Dawit Wolde (ETH) 3:45.03
Men's 110m Hurdles - Mitchell Tysoe (NSW): Tysoe is an excellent hurdler on his day, and we can only hope that his "day" will come in Italy in the final of the 110m hurdles. At the Pacific School Games in Canberra last December Tysoe ran an impressive 13.62sec (-0.3) for the 110m hurdles, a time that placed him at no.3 on the U/18 world ranking lists. Since then he has struggled to recapture the same form, running mostly in the 13.90-14.00sec region. There were however some good signs on the Gold Coast recently, with a sub 14.00sec performance just after running a 11.20sec 100m.
The pressure in Italy will certainly come from the Americans, although there could also be some worthy challengers from Europe. The current world youth leader is German Gregor Traber, who has run a 13.58sec in 2009 back in May. Just behind Traber are Arnau Erta (ESP) who has run 13.60sec, while Jack Meredith (GBR) has run a 13.63sec when winning his U/18 National title.
As the times in 2009 suggest, Tysoe will surely be in right in with a chance of a medal if he recapture the form that saw him run 13.62sec late last year. If his technique stands up to the pressure of a major Championships then he should certainly make the final at the very least.
2007 World Youth Championships Results:
Gold: Wayne Davis (USA) 13.18sec*; Silver: William Wynne (USA) 13.44sec; Bronze: Denis Seminov (KAZ) 13.82sec *= WYR
Men's 10000m Walk - Dane Bird-Smith (QLD): Anybody you talk to will tell you same thing - Bird-Smith is a very special race walker. He easily won the U/20 Australian 10000m walk title in April (43:47.71) and has been walking some quick times in pre-departure meetings on the Gold Coast (over the shorter distances of 3000m etc). Also walked an impressive 20:22.81 in the 5000m at the Australian Cup in February, placing 5th in an open field.
Apart from the Chinese (who have had three athletes walk under 41 minutes on the road), the competition should come from athletes from Russia, Germany, Spain and Colombia. On the track recently there was also a strong performance from American Trevor Barron, who walked a 43:36.38 for the 10000m at the US Youth trials. At the end of the day Bird-Smith will be looking for a sub 43 minute performance in Italy to ensure that he is in the top-3 when he crosses the line.
2007 World Youth Championships Results:
Gold: Stanislav Emelyanov (RUS) 41:49.91; Silver: Pedro Gomez (MEX) 43:11.87; Bronze: Vito Di Bari (ITA) 43:36.13
Other Australians to Watch Out for in Italy
- Amy Pejkovic (high jump) has been in great form recently, clearing 1.82m in Sydney (which was a new personal best). Will have to contend with the likes of Kimberley Jess (GER) who has a personal best of 1.91m, although the medals could be decided around the 1.84m mark which suggests that Pejkovic is definitely in the mix;
- Brooke Stratton (long jump) has been consistently jumping over 6.00m this year, with a recent jump of 6.02m on the Gold Coast. Would need to match her best of 6.10m to give herself a chance of a top-6 performance in Bressanone, while the medals are likely to be handed to athletes jumping at around the 6.25m mark.
- Paige Hooper (5000m walk) was part of the Australian team that competed at the 2007 version of the World Youth Championships. On that occasion Hooper placed a very impressive 4th, and if she is anywhere near her best of 22:57.67 then another top-6 performance is certainly achievable for the South Australian.
- Kurt Jenner (long jump) is in the same position as Stratton, with a jump close to his best of 7.24m placing Jenner in a good position to push for a top-6 position in Italy. The World Youth leader for 2009 in the long jump is Maksim Fayzulin of Russia, with a best of 7.67m, with seven athletes producing season's bests of over 7.40m, With this in mind it won't be easy for Jenner, but a jump of over 7.20m should see him safely through to the final.
Australian Schedule at the Championships
Note : AEST + 8hrs
- Day 1 (July 8):
- 10:40 - M 800m heats (Jordon Williamsz and Alex Rowe)
- 12:00 - M Discus qualifying (Ben Talakai and Liam Speers)
- 15:35 - M 400m heats (Alex Beck)
- 15:40 - M Long Jump qualifying (Kurt Jenner)
- 17:00 - W High Jump qualifying (Amy Pejkovic and Denise Snyder)
- 18:45 - M Discus Final (Ben Talakai and Liam Speers)
- Day 2 (July 9):
10:30 - W 800m heats (Bronte Gange)- 11:20 - M Hammer Throw (Huw Peacock)
- 11:25 - M 110m hurdles heats (Cameron Hyde and Mitchell Tysoe)
- 11:55 - M 1500m heats (James Connor and Kane Grimster)
- 15:25 - M 800m semi-final (Alex Rowe and Jordon Williamsz)
- 15:30 - M High Jump (Andrew Neville)
- 17:05 - M 400m semi-final (Alex Beck)
- 17:15 - M Long Jump final (Kurt Jenner)
- Day 3 (July 10)
- 10:45 - M Shot Put qualifying (Damien Birkenhead)
- 14:25 - M 400m Final (Alex Beck)
- 15:00 - M Hammer Throw qualifying (Huw Peacock)
- 15:35 - M 110m Hurdles semi-final (Mitchell Tysoe and Cameron Hyde)
- 16:00 - W 800m semi-final (Bronte Gange)
- 16:30 - W High Jump (Amy Pejkovic and Denise Snyder)
- 16:55 - W Discus Throw qualifying (Taryn Gollshewsky)
- 17:35 - M 110m hurdles final (Mitchell Tysoe and Cameron Hyde)
- 18:20 - M 10000m walk (Dane Bird-Smith)
- Day 4 (July 11)
- 10:00 - W 5000m walk (Paige Hooper and Shannon Jennings)
- 11:20 - M Javelin qualifying (Luanga Andria)
- 16:00 - M High Jump final (Andrew Neville)
- 16:50 - M Shot Put final (Damien Birkenhead)
- 17:20 - W Discus Throw final (Taryn Gollshewsky)
- 18:20 - M 800m final (Alex Rowe and Jordon Williamsz)
- Day 5 (July 12)
- 14:30 - W 800m final (Bronte Gange)
- 15:00 - M Javelin final (Luanga Andria)
- 15:25 - W Long Jump final (Brooke Stratton)
- 15:50 - M 1500m final (James Connor and Kane Grimster)
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