DISTANCE PRELIMS GIVE A GLIMPSE OF WHAT'S TO COME IN FINAL TWO DAYS at WORLD JUNIORS
By Chris Lotsbom
(c) 2010 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - used with permission

(23-Jul) -- On the fifth day of competition at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, there were no middle or long distance finals.  Despite no medals being awarded, there were some interesting and exciting preliminary races, giving a glimpse of what is to come in the remaining two days of the championships.

The fastest and arguably most competitive event of the day was the preliminary round of the men's 800m. 

In the first heat, American collegiate star Robby Andrews placed second behind France's Pierre-Ambroise Bosse, 1:50.60 to 1:50.80.  Andrews, the reigning NCAA indoor 800m champion, is eager to see what will come in tomorrow's semi-final round. 

"I didn’t know what to expect," said the 19 year-old who runs for the University of Virginia.  "It's the world championships. It's a good competition." 

Andrew's personal best is 1:45.54, set at the NCAA Championships this year.   

Andrews's American teammate, Casimir Loxsom, won heat four in 1:49.47, also advancing.  His time was the second fastest on the day, only one tenth of a second behind heat two winner David Mutinda Mutua of Kenya.  Loxsom, who won the USA Junior Championships, was set on taking the championships one step at a time, focusing on making the semi-finals.

"Coming into the heat, I had a lot of confidence," he said.  "I had to get to the [semi-] final. That's it." 

Other heat winners included Kenya's Dickson Kipsang Tuwei in 1:49.84, Great Britain's Niall Brooks in 1:51.10, and France's Samir Dahmani in 1:50.80.  Nine athletes went under 1:50 in the round.

Also on Friday was the women's 1500m prelims, all of which were won in wire-to-wire performances.  The fastest time of the three heats was put up by Kenyan Nancy Chepkwemoi who ran 4:11.42, a personal best.  Chepkwemoi was the only competitor to run under 4:12, and was followed by Amela Terzic of Serbia, who ran a national junior record of 4:13.46.

Heat one was a battle to the line, as Ethiopia's Tizita Bogale edged out Romania' Ioana Doaga by 3/100ths of a second, 4:12.95 to 4:12.98.  Kenyan Nelly Chebet Ngeiywo rounded out the top-3 in 4:13.00. 

The second heat was highlighted by American Jordan Hasay, who finished second behind Ireland's Ciara Mageean.  Both crossed the line in nearly the exact same time, 4:16.73 to 4:16.74. 

"It was pretty slow early on. I was just trying to stay relaxed," said Hasay, who just finished her first year at the University of Oregon.  "I think I was pressing a little bit. Preliminaries are always so nerve-wracking because you’re worried someone’s going to pass you and get that spot. I’m just excited to make it to the finals and do something there."

In men's steeplechase qualifying, Uganda's Jacob Araptany led all qualifiers with a mark of 8:28.14 in the second of two heats.  Twelve men advanced to Sunday's final.

  NOTE: This report was made possible with valuable assistance from USATF and IAAF --Jr. Ed.

ENDS