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World Junior Championships - Preview
by Chris Wainwright
The World Junior Championships are set to commence on Monday night (AEST) in Moncton, Canada and Australia has some quality athletes who are certainly capable of coming home with medals.
Lading the way for Australia is Julian Wruck in the men's discus throw, while on the women's side we have the likes of Amy Pejkovic (high jump) and Kim Mulhall (discus throw) leading the way. Below we take a look at some of our major medal hopes and also some other athletes to keep a close eye on.
Men's Discus - Qual: 23rd July 10:35pm (AEST), Final: 25th July 4:30am
Julian Wruck has had an excellent season in 2010, with a new Australian Junior record of 62.61m just prior to leaving Australia for Canada. Also placed 3rd at the NCAA Championships (58.03m with the 2kg discus) and also threw a massive 61.02m with the senior discus back in March.
Wruck only ranks 6th on the World Junior list for 2010, but is capable of improving significantly on his PB in Canada. The world leader is Michael Salzer (GER) who threw 65.42m back in May in excellent conditions in Germany. Salzer did fail in the qualifying rounds of the 2009 European Junior Championships, so does have some question marks around his temperament at major championships. The other thrower to watch is Lawrence Okoye (GBR) (left) who has a PB of 63.92m. The interesting athlete is the Ukrainian Mykyta Nesterenko who has a lifetime best of 70.13m (WJR), but has been injured over the past 2 years and "only" owns a SB of 62.96m in 2010.
Men's 110m Hurdles - Qual: 23rd July 10:35pm (AEST), Semi Final: 25th July 2:35am, Final: 26th July 3:35am
Sam Baines is in career best form, and as with Wruck, set a Australain junior record leading into the Championships. His time of 13.53sec set in Brisbane was a confidence boost heading into the World Juniors, and ranks him at no.4 on the World List for 2010 of the athletes lining up in Moncton.
Baines will line up against the likes of Jack Meredith (GBR) - who set a NJR of 13.32sec in Oslo back in June, Pascal Lagarde (FRA) - 13.37sec run earlier this month, and Vladimir Vukicevic (NOR) - who also ran a NJR of 13.42sec when 2nd to Meredith in Oslo.
Watch Meredith in action below:
Meredith has talked about breaking the WJR of 13.08sec, although Baines will also be looking at running a lot faster than his current best of 13.53sec. As with Wruck, Baines is capable of anything and could easily upset the favourite, Meredith.
Women's High Jump - Qual: 23rd July 11.00pm (AEST), Final: 26th July 2:30am
Amy Pejkovic will have to wait until the last day for the final of the women's high jump, but based on her current form it could be a good one. The 2009 World Youth silver medalist, Pejkovic has twice cleared 1.86m in her career, and will go into the Championships as the one of the medal favourites.
The world leader is Airine Palsyte of Lithuania who cleared 1.92m indoors and outdoors in 2010. Marija Vukovic (MNE) has also jumped well in 2010, and owns a PB of 1.89m, set when setting a NR in June. WIth such quality jumpers competing in Canada it will certainly take a quality jump to win a medal, so a new PB from Pejkovic could be required to match it with the very best junior high jumpers.
Women's Discus Throw - Qual: 21st July 7:40am (AEST), Final: 23rd July 8:40am
Kim Mulhall has already competed at a World Youth Championships and World Junior Championships in her career as a junior, with her best performance coming at the 2007 World Youth Championships when she placed 4th in the final (48.21m). Her experience should see her have an excellent chance of at least going one better than her 4th placing in 2007.
Mulhall ranks 3rd on the 2010 World Junior ranking list, with her PB of 56.85m ranking behind the World Leading performance from Yaimi Perez of Cuba (59.30m). 2010 hasn't seen any big throws from junior discus throwers, and therefore a throw of just under 60m could easily win the contest.
Irina Rodrigues (POR) has also thrown close to 60m in 2010 (58.21m NJR) and will also be pushing for the gold medal, joining Mulhall and Perez in the chase for glory.
Although we have rated the above four Australian athletes as athletes who could medal in Canada there will certainly be other exciting Australian athletes to keep a close eye on, including:
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Overall Australia will be represented by 36 athletes (20 men and 16 women), which includes men's and women's relay teams in both the 4x100m and 4x400m.
It looks set to be a fantastic Championships, with our fingers crossed for a successful one for our Aussie athletes. Good luck to all Australian athletes competing!
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news from the World Junior Championships right her at www.runnerstribe.com, including blogs from some of our top junior athletes.
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Preview - Australian Athletes
The World Junior Championships are set to commence on Monday night (AEST) in Moncton, Canada and Australia has some quality athletes who are certainly capable of coming home with medals.Lading the way for Australia is Julian Wruck in the men's discus throw, while on the women's side we have the likes of Amy Pejkovic (high jump) and Kim Mulhall (discus throw) leading the way. Below we take a look at some of our major medal hopes and also some other athletes to keep a close eye on.
Men's Discus - Qual: 23rd July 10:35pm (AEST), Final: 25th July 4:30am
Julian Wruck has had an excellent season in 2010, with a new Australian Junior record of 62.61m just prior to leaving Australia for Canada. Also placed 3rd at the NCAA Championships (58.03m with the 2kg discus) and also threw a massive 61.02m with the senior discus back in March.
Wruck only ranks 6th on the World Junior list for 2010, but is capable of improving significantly on his PB in Canada. The world leader is Michael Salzer (GER) who threw 65.42m back in May in excellent conditions in Germany. Salzer did fail in the qualifying rounds of the 2009 European Junior Championships, so does have some question marks around his temperament at major championships. The other thrower to watch is Lawrence Okoye (GBR) (left) who has a PB of 63.92m. The interesting athlete is the Ukrainian Mykyta Nesterenko who has a lifetime best of 70.13m (WJR), but has been injured over the past 2 years and "only" owns a SB of 62.96m in 2010.Men's 110m Hurdles - Qual: 23rd July 10:35pm (AEST), Semi Final: 25th July 2:35am, Final: 26th July 3:35am
Sam Baines is in career best form, and as with Wruck, set a Australain junior record leading into the Championships. His time of 13.53sec set in Brisbane was a confidence boost heading into the World Juniors, and ranks him at no.4 on the World List for 2010 of the athletes lining up in Moncton.Baines will line up against the likes of Jack Meredith (GBR) - who set a NJR of 13.32sec in Oslo back in June, Pascal Lagarde (FRA) - 13.37sec run earlier this month, and Vladimir Vukicevic (NOR) - who also ran a NJR of 13.42sec when 2nd to Meredith in Oslo.
Watch Meredith in action below:
Meredith has talked about breaking the WJR of 13.08sec, although Baines will also be looking at running a lot faster than his current best of 13.53sec. As with Wruck, Baines is capable of anything and could easily upset the favourite, Meredith.
Women's High Jump - Qual: 23rd July 11.00pm (AEST), Final: 26th July 2:30am
Amy Pejkovic will have to wait until the last day for the final of the women's high jump, but based on her current form it could be a good one. The 2009 World Youth silver medalist, Pejkovic has twice cleared 1.86m in her career, and will go into the Championships as the one of the medal favourites.The world leader is Airine Palsyte of Lithuania who cleared 1.92m indoors and outdoors in 2010. Marija Vukovic (MNE) has also jumped well in 2010, and owns a PB of 1.89m, set when setting a NR in June. WIth such quality jumpers competing in Canada it will certainly take a quality jump to win a medal, so a new PB from Pejkovic could be required to match it with the very best junior high jumpers.
Women's Discus Throw - Qual: 21st July 7:40am (AEST), Final: 23rd July 8:40am
Kim Mulhall has already competed at a World Youth Championships and World Junior Championships in her career as a junior, with her best performance coming at the 2007 World Youth Championships when she placed 4th in the final (48.21m). Her experience should see her have an excellent chance of at least going one better than her 4th placing in 2007.Mulhall ranks 3rd on the 2010 World Junior ranking list, with her PB of 56.85m ranking behind the World Leading performance from Yaimi Perez of Cuba (59.30m). 2010 hasn't seen any big throws from junior discus throwers, and therefore a throw of just under 60m could easily win the contest.
Irina Rodrigues (POR) has also thrown close to 60m in 2010 (58.21m NJR) and will also be pushing for the gold medal, joining Mulhall and Perez in the chase for glory.
Other Australian's to Watch
Although we have rated the above four Australian athletes as athletes who could medal in Canada there will certainly be other exciting Australian athletes to keep a close eye on, including:- Dane Bird-Smith - 10000m walk (PB of 43:16.93) - has been talked about by many as being the next "big thing" in walking and will look for a top-10 finish in Moncton.
- Jake Hammond - 200m (PB of 21.07sec) - looks set to be class sprinter and has now overcome his hamstring injury and will look for a place in the final.
- Brett Robinson - 1500m (PB of 3.42.37) - if the race is a tactical one then Robinson is capable of surprising and pushing for a top-8 placing.
- Todd Wakefield - 1500m (PB of 3.44.84) - as with Robinson could surprise if the race is more of a tactical affair, just needs to get through the qualifying rounds and then anything is possible.
Ella Nelson (pictured right: far left) - 200m (PB of 23.68sec) - is an up and coming sprinter with enormous talent. If she can continue to improve a place in the final is definately a possibility. Will need to run in the mid 23 second range to make the final.- Anneliese Rubie (pictured below) - 400m (PB of 53.88sec) - has become one of Australia's top junior sprinters in 2010, and will only improve in Canada. A sub 53 second performance would not shock, following on from Angie Blackburn who ran 52.90sec to make the 400m final at the 2008 World Juniors.
- Brooke Stratton - long jump (PB of 6.30m) - at her very best Stratton could place in the top-8, with the Victorian Junior record holder looking to improve on her 10th placing at last year's World Youth Championships.
Overall Australia will be represented by 36 athletes (20 men and 16 women), which includes men's and women's relay teams in both the 4x100m and 4x400m.It looks set to be a fantastic Championships, with our fingers crossed for a successful one for our Aussie athletes. Good luck to all Australian athletes competing!
Keep up-to-date with all the latest news from the World Junior Championships right her at www.runnerstribe.com, including blogs from some of our top junior athletes.
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