#WorldU20 | Jamaicans' work cut out in Women's 200m final
Published:Friday | August 20, 2021 | 9:46 AM
Jamaica's Women's 200m sprinters have gone through to the final of the event at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday, but it was not an easy task.
Brianna Lyston advanced in second place from her heat in a personal best (PB) 23.18 seconds.
Her teammate Aalliyah Francis also finished second in her heat, in a PB 23.70s.
Lyston and Francis advanced as the fourth and eighth fastest overall qualifiers respectively.
The talk of the round was however the performances of three African sprinters.
Namibia's Christine Mboma, who took a silver medal over the same distance at the Tokyo Olympic Games earlier this month, had a dominant performance in Lyston's heat. She came out and smashed the championship record of 22.50s, set by Jamaica's Briana Williams, with a clocking of 22.41s.
However her compatriot, Beatrice Masilingi, who was also a finalist in the distance at the Olympics, broke that record in the very next heat.
Her time of 22.19s sent a warning to all her opponents that she should be strongly considered for the gold medal in the final.
Nigeria's Favour Ofili, in heat three with Francis, also came out and made it clear she is a strong contender for a medal. She also had a dominant run of 22.37s, slower than Masilingi, but faster than Mboma, to ease into the final.
That race takes place on Saturday at 6 p.m. (10 a.m. Jamaica time).
Bryan Levell, Jamaica's lone competitor in the Men's 200m semi-final, did not make the final.
Running from heat three, he finished third in 20.71s, behind winner Tazana Mikkel Kamanga-Dyrbak of Denmark (20.61s), and Poland's Jakub Pietrusa (PB 20.70s).