World Athletics U20 Championship - SA Preview

The World Athletics U20 Championship starts this week in Lima, Peru. And South Australia has four representatives in the Australian team.

Marley Raikiwasa will get competition underway for the South Australians, with the qualification rounds of the Women's Discus starting at 2:05am ACST on Wednesday August 28th.

Marley is in PB form this year, having thrown a 57.42 in May, and consistent throws of over 55 in most of the events she's competed in. She is competing in the US College system, and is in with a shout for a medal as one of the clear top four competitors at the Championships this year.

The final for the Women's Discus will take place the next day, on Thursday, at 6:59am ACST. 

Tryphena Hewett will then continue the SA representation on day one, with the qualification round of the Women's Pole Vault at 6:30am ACST on Wednesday.

Tryphena comes into the Championships in decent form, having jumped a PB of 4.20 back in April at Nationals. She's also cleared 4.10 three times this year, including recently at the Busan International Paul Vault Meet in South Korea, where she she finished in second place on borrowed poles in rainy conditions.

She's an outside chance of making the final on the 30th of August, being one of six competitors with a season best of 4.20. 

In the early hours of Friday morning, Joel Doherty will take part in the Men's Long Jump qualifiers at his first World U20s. He set his PB of 7.57 at Nationals in April, and will look to improve upon that result amongst a strong field in Lima. 

It will be a tough test for Joel, but will serve well as a benchmark to compare his form and performances against some of the best young talent in the world.

Day four, August the 30th, sees Marley back in action with the Women's Shot Put qualifiers at 11:50pm ACST.

Like the Discus, Marley is a firm favourite to medal, with her PB of 16.84 back in May making her the clear third-best in the field. The final will take place the next morning, at 6:40am ACST on August 31st.

Rounding out the competition for SA is Charlotte McAuliffe, who is part of the Women's 4x400m Relay team competing at 9:00am ACST on Sunday, September 1st.

Charlotte has been in very consistent form, running solid times throughout the year in the individual 400m, with a season best of 53.65. She was also a part of the 4x400m team that took first place at the Oceania Athletics Championships in a time of 3:50.85.

Some other high-profile Australians that are worth keeping an eye on include Peyton Craig in the Men's 800m, who is a firm favourite for the Gold; Cameron Myers in the Men's 1500m and 3000m; the Men's 4x100m Relay team, with the likes of Sebastian Sultana and Gout Gout in the pool for selection; and Torrie Lewis and Claudia Hollingsworth straight off the back of the Paris Olympics in the Women's 200m and 800m, respectively.

Full event entry lists can be found HERE

Event timetable, including local timezones, can be found HERE

Check out Athletics Australia's preview of the Championships HERE

By Jacob Stevens, Athletics SA
Posted 26/08/2024