World Athletics Under-20 Champs begin Wednesday...
If you're not paying close attention to the international track and field calendar, you may notice that since the last weekend of July, the only big meets around the world have consisted primarily of national and continental championship meets, with maybe a smattering of World Athletics Bronze level meets in Europe.
The next two weeks will see more of the same on the international calendar, with the biggest meets over the fortnight being the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Eugene, and the European Championships that begin next week in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
The World Athletics Under-20 Championships returns to Hayward Field beginning on Wednesday after the historic venue hosted the event in 2014. Since 2014, the venue was remodeled and hosted the senior version of the world championships in 2022.
The World U20s features the world's best athletes born between 2007-2010. Athletes who've met qualifying standards, must be 19 on December 31st, and picked by their respective national federations to compete in Eugene.
There are nine athletes with Washington ties competing in the meet: University of Washington rising sophomore Chloe Symon (Paul Merca photo); UW freshmen Mary MacLean, Saoirse Fitzgerald, Milla Roberts, and Sherry Drury; Lake Washington HS senior Yevhen Zhmailo; Mead/Spokane senior Simon Rosselli; UW redshirt freshman Owen Powell; and Kamiak HS junior Miller Warme.
Symon and MacLean are representing Canada, while Fitzgerald, Roberts and Drury will represent Ireland, Australia, and Japan.
Zhmailo, who will attend the University of Oklahoma this fall, will compete for his native Ukraine, while Powell, Warme and Rosselli, who will attend Oregon this fall, will all compete for Team USATF.
Symon is currently the Canadian U20 record holder in the 800m, setting it at the NCAA West Regionals, where she ran 2:02.38.
MacLean, who won the Canadian U20 championship in the 800, beating Symon, comes into the world championships with a personal best 2:04.41, set at the Brooks PR meet in Renton in June.
Fitzgerald (Paul Merca photo), who like Symon and MacLean, is entered in the 800 on the meet's first day, is coming off a strong performance at the Morton Games in Dublin, where she ran 2:03.52, which puts her third all time behind Irish athletics icons Sarah Healy and Ciara Mageean.
Roberts and Drury will both compete at the world championships in the 1500 meters. Roberts ran 4:12.81 in mid March, while Drury, who competed at the World U20s two years ago in Lima, Peru, has a season best of 4:16.54, set in March.
Zhmailo set the US national indoor high school record in the triple jump in Spokane at the Spokane HS Invitational, where he jumped 52-9.5 (16.09m). Zhmailo won his second Nike Outdoor Nationals, and capped off an undefeated outdoor season by winning the Washington 4A long and triple jump crowns for Lake Washington.
Like Zhmailo, Roselli capped off an undefeated season at Mead HS, winning both the shot and discus titles at the Washington 4A championships in Tacoma before winning the USA U20 championship in the discus with a throw of 205-7 (62.67m). Two days later at the Nike Outdoor Nationals, he turned around and threw a meet record 225-8 (68.78m).
Powell (Paul Merca photo), who redshirted the outdoor season for the Huskies, finished third at the USA U20 meet in June, where he ran 8:42.53. Powell got under the 8:04 standard to qualify for the world championships when he ran 7:59.94 on July 8th in Cork, Ireland.
Warme, the Washington 4A champion in the 110 hurdles for Kamiak HS, finished second in the 400 hurdles at the U20 championships, where he ran 49.28.
If you can't make it to Eugene, Peacock ($) will have live coverage every day.
NOTE: World Athletics, USA Track & Field, Athletics Australia, JAAF, Athletics Ireland, and Athletics Canada contributed to this report.
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