Willis clocks 1:59.13 to eclipse meet record, ascends to No. 2 prep performer, with national high school all-time competitor Whittaker earning bronze for Americans, who also had Mixon secure silver in men’s 110 hurdles and Jackson grab bronze in women’s 100; Texas star Sralla takes discus title for Sweden

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Roisin Willis finally achieved her sub-2, and earned a gold medal, too.

Willis, a Stanford signee from Stevens Point, Wis., became only the second American female athlete in the history of the World Athletics U20 Championships to win the 800-meter title, rallying in the final 50 meters Wednesday to prevail in a meet-record 1 minute, 59.13 seconds at Pascual Guerrero Olympic Stadium in Cali, Colombia.

“It’s been a long season and so much has happened, so to end it with this time and this race, I’m super, super grateful,” Willis said. “I think the semifinal was a real game-changer for me and it really boosted my confidence about where my fitness was and today I wasn’t expecting to take it out the first lap, but I trusted what I did in the semifinals and I just decided to trust the plan and just keep going.”

Willis, 17, moved out into lane 2 and surged past Switzerland’s Audrey Werro, who also eclipsed the 2-minute barrier for the first time in her career by securing silver in 1:59.53.

“The only thought in my head was, ‘Don’t give up,’” Willis said. “I knew in the back of my head that if I were in a position where I’d be coming through in second into the home stretch that I would give it everything single thing I had and I just stuck with my promise and just trusted myself that I could bring it home.”

INTERVIEWS | TIMETABLE/RESULTS

It marked the first time in meet history that a pair of competitors ran under the 2-minute mark in the final, with both athletes producing performances faster than the 2018 winning effort of 1:59.74 achieved by Ethiopia’s Diribe Welteji in Finland.

Willis elevated to the No. 2 all-time prep competitor behind fellow American and Stanford teammate Juliette Whittaker, who earned bronze Wednesday by clocking 2:00.18. Whittaker, an 18-year-old standout representing Mount de Sales in Maryland, had won the USATF U20 crown June 25 in a national high school record 1:59.04 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., with Willis placing second in 2:00.32.

“I’m just grateful for this experience and to have it alongside Roisin, one of my closest friends, just means the world to me,” Whittaker said. “I’m proud of the year that I had and how far I’ve grown from last year as an athlete and just as a person, so I couldn’t ask for more.”

It was the second occasion at the World U20 Championships that the U.S. produced two athletes on the 800 podium, following Sammy Watson and Aaliyah Miller taking the top two spots in 2016 in Poland.

Following a two-hour rain delay that forced the postponement of the women’s pole vault final to Thursday morning, the U.S. added two more medals Wednesday night, including an impressive comeback from Malik Mixon of Westlake High in Georgia in the men’s 110-meter hurdles final to secure silver, and a well-timed lean from Shawnti Jackson of Wakefield High in North Carolina to capture bronze in the women’s 100-meter dash championship.

Mixon, 18, rallied from fifth midway through the race to close strong over the final two hurdles to run a personal-best 13.27 seconds to place second behind Antoine Andrews of the Bahamas in 13.23.

“I have mixed feelings. One feeling is that I’m feeling great and feeling amazing because I made the podium and I got a personal best,” said Mixon, who equaled the No. 5 all-time prep competitor.

“But at the same time, I’m a fighter and I’m a winner at heart, so it’s like, ‘Man, I came up short. I was this close to winning.’ I wanted to win, but I came up short, so it’s mixed emotions. But I’m just grateful and happy that I made the podium.”

Matthew Sophia of the Netherlands led before clipping the final hurdle and losing his balance, resulting in a third-place effort in 13.34.

Andrews became the first champion in the 110 hurdles for his country, with Mixon capturing the first medal in the event for the U.S. since Marcus Krah and Amere Lattin took the top two spots in 2016 in Poland.

Jamaica’s Tina Clayton became the first female athlete to repeat as 100-meter gold medalist in meet history, producing a championship record 10.95 to ascend to the No. 5 all-time global Under-20 competitor.

Serena Cole clocked 11.14 to help Jamaica earn its first sweep of the top two positions at the event.

Jackson edged N’Ketia Seedo of the Netherlands by an 11.148 to 11.149 margin to grab the final spot on the podium, producing an emotional response from the 17-year-old daughter of Bershawn Jackson, who captured a bronze medal for the U.S. in the men’s 400-meter hurdles at the 2002 World Junior Championships in Jamaica.

“It feels amazing,” said Jackson, who elevated to No. 10 in U.S. prep history.

“I dreamed of this moment my whole life and now it’s actually come true.”

Mia Brahe-Pedersen of Lake Oswego High in Oregon, 16, finished seventh in 11.33.

Emma Sralla, 17, a standout at Lewisville Marcus High in Texas representing Sweden, produced a fourth-round mark of 184 feet, 2 inches (56.15m) to win gold in the women’s discus throw, earning the first medal for her country in the event.

Sralla ranks as the No. 7 all-time prep competitor at 185 feet (56.38m) with her April 21 performance.

“I’m on top of the world. Everything I’ve done this year, it just feels like it’s all come together for my last meet and it’s hard to even describe with words,” Sralla said. “I was nervous, but I knew I had it in me because I’ve had some very good training recently. I just had to go out there and fully let my body relax and let the machine that I’ve been building do what it can do, so I just had to take some deep breaths and let it fly and it went well.”

Despoina Areti Filippidou of Greece earned silver with a third-round throw of 178-9 (54.48m) and University of Oregon standout Mine De Klerk of South Africa rallied with a fifth-round effort of 175-8 (53.54m) to take third and earn her fourth career World U20 medal, more than any athlete in her country’s history.

De Klerk, who boasts a personal-best 177-11 (54.22m) from March at San Diego State, has a pair of shot put gold medals and added bronze in the discus to her silver medal last year in Kenya with a 175-6 (53.50m) performance. She became the only female athlete in meet history to earn two medals in each event.

Siniru Iheoma of Princeton, the first-round leader who remained in medal contention for the U.S. until the fifth round, finished fourth at 174-4 (53.15m).

East African athletes took the top four spots in the men’s 1,500 final, with Kenya’s Reynold Kipkorir Cheruiyot extending the country’s streak to five consecutive gold medals by prevailing in 3:35.83.

Ethiopia’s Ermias Girma (3:37.24) and Kenya’s Daniel Kimaiyo (3:37.43) also made the podium, with Ethiopia’s Adihana Kasaye clocking 3:38.10 to place fourth.

Nathan Green, representing University of Washington, placed fifth for the U.S. in 3:39.44, matching the best finish by any American male athlete in meet history, along with Jason Pyrah in 1988 and Gabe Jennings in 1998.

Several American athletes positioned themselves well for Thursday’s finals, including 17-year-old Akala Garrett of Harding University in North Carolina producing the fastest semifinal time in the women’s 400-meter hurdles by running a personal-best 57.28.

Michaela Rose of LSU also advanced to the final by clocking 57.83.

Jamaica’s Delano Kennedy led all qualifiers in the men’s 400 semifinals in a personal-best 45.49, with University of Cincinnati’s Steven McElroy advancing for the U.S. in 45.67.

Ashton Schwartzman of Texas A&M just missed moving on after running 46.50.

Letsile Tebogo of Botswana followed his 100-meter gold medal by equaling the championship record of 19.99 in the opening round of the 200.

Blessing Akawasi Afrifah of Israel led all qualifiers into the final with a 20.17 effort, followed by Tebogo in 20.23.

Brandon Miller, representing Grand Valley State, advanced for the U.S. in 20.57.

Great Britain’s Yemi Mary John produced the fastest semifinal performance in the women’s 400 in 51.72.

Mekenze Kelley of Coastal Carolina (53.09) and Zaya Akins of Raytown South in Missouri (53.62) were unable to qualify for the final for the Americans.

The U.S. also won’t have a presence in the finals of the women’s hammer throw and long jump, along with the men’s 3,000 steeplechase and 3,000 championship race.

Italy’s Rachele Mori was the top qualifier in the hammer throw at 212-8 (64.83).

Emily Fink of the U.S. Military Academy threw 192 feet (58.52m) and Kennesaw State’s Kali Terza had a mark of 174-1 (53.08m).

Spain’s Evelyn Yankey achieved the best performance in the long jump prelims with a leap of 20-9.75 (6.34m).

Alyssa Banales of Imagine International High jumped 19-9 (6.02m) and fellow Texan India Alix of Klein High had a 19-6 (5.94m) effort.

Kenya’s Edwin Kimosong Kisalsak led all qualifiers in the men’s 3,000 in 7:55.60. Lucas Guerra of Georgetown clocked 8:21.90 for the U.S.

Ethiopia’s Samuel Duguna posted the fastest prelim performance in the men’s 3,000 steeplechase in 8:44.83.

Peter Visser of Weber State ran 9:06.47 and Air Force’s Bryce Lentz clocked 9:07.67 for the Americans.

JaiCieonna Gero-Holt, the youngest U.S. athlete competing in Colombia at 15, completed the first day of the women’s heptathlon in eighth place with 3,367 points.

Gero-Holt, representing Emerald Ridge High in Washington, achieved a personal-best clearance of 6-0.50 (1.84m) to win the high jump competition. The national freshman record is 6-0.75 (1.85m) shared by Jenna Rogers of New Jersey and Alyssa Jones of Florida.

Bryanna Craig of Louisiana is tied for 19th with 3,066 points for the Americans.

Finland’s Saga Vanninen, who triumphed last year in Kenya, leads with 3,666 points entering Thursday.

Yan Vazquez, a UCLA signee from Red Mountain High in Arizona, ran a lifetime-best 50.66 seconds representing Puerto Rico in the opening round of the men’s 400-meter hurdles to lead all qualifiers.

Grant Williams, an Arkansas commit from Celina High in Texas, clocked 51.12, with Texas signee Kody Blackwood of McKinney North High also advancing in 52.50.