Jamaica celebrated a double gold medal performance to close off Day Three at the IAAF World Under-18 Championships with De’Jour Russell and Antonio Watson beating their peers in Nairobi, Kenya on Friday.
Russell lowered his own championships record in the 110m hurdles, dominating the field to win in 13.04 seconds ahead of Chinese Taipei’s Hao-hua Lu, 13.41 and France’s Thomas Wanaverbecq, 13.55.
Fifteen year-old Petersfield High school student Watson won gold in the 400m with a strong finish, after coming into the final 100m in the middle of the pack.
Watson posted a personal best 46.59 to win ahead of Guyanese Daniel Williams, 46.72, and Turks and Caicos’ Colby Jennings, 46.77.
Another Jamaican, Anthony Cox, who also posted 46.77, started strongly but faded into fourth place.
In the girls’ final, Shaquena Foote, 54.05, finished fifth behind winner Barbora Malikova, 52.74 from the Czech Republic; Kenya’s Mary Moraa, 53.31; and Brazil’s Giovana Dos Santos, 53.57.
The results lifted the Jamaicans to four medals (two gold, two bronze) and fourth place on the medal table.
