Card and Douglas win 100m silver at World U20 Championships; Jamaica also reaches 200m semis

EUGENE, Oregon, (CMC)— Jamaica’s Gary Card and Shanoya Douglas delivered silver medal performances in the men’s and women’s 100m finals on Thursday night at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships, securing the nation’s first medals of the competition at Hayward Field. The double silver haul places Jamaica in ninth position on the medals table as the […]

  OREGON, United States — All four Jamaicans have advanced to the semi-finals of the 200m following Friday’s opening-round heats at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, with Shanoya Douglas and Sashana Johnson leading the way for the women with impressive sub-23.00-second performances. The first two rounds of the event are being contested on Friday, with the final scheduled for Saturday’s penultimate day of competition. Gary Card, the 100m silver medallist from Thursday, was initially disqualified for a lane violation but was subsequently reinstated after a successful appeal by the Jamaican officials. Card, the second-fastest Jamaican junior male over 200m behind sprint legend Usain Bolt, finished second in his heat in 20.76 seconds (0.5m/s), behind Japan’s Tomoro Ide. Nathaniel Martin, the winner of the 200m at the JAAA National Junior Championships, was third in his heat in 21.00 seconds (-0.1m/s) to book an automatic semi-final spot. On the women’s side, Douglas, who is aiming for her second medal of the championships after claiming silver in the 100m on Thursday, comfortably won her heat in 22.88 seconds (-0.3m/s). She is also seeking another 200m medal after taking bronze at the previous championships in Lima, Peru, two years ago. Johnson, meanwhile, broke the 23-second barrier for the first time, clocking 22.95 seconds (0.5m/s) to win her heat and improve on her previous personal best of 23.01 seconds. — Paul A Reid

OREGON, USA — Jamaica’s Gary Card and Shanoya Douglas won silver medals in the men and women’s 100m on Thursday night at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. It was the first medals for Jamaica at the championships, putting them in ninth position on the medals tables. Americans Tate Taylor and Mia Maxwell delighted the home fans by winning the double, only the second time athletes from the same country had taken both gold medals at the same under-20 championships after Americans Noah Lyles and Candace Hill achieved the feat in 2016 in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Card got off to a fast start but was chased and caught by Tate who passed him to win in a personal best 9.94 seconds (0.1m/s), the Jamaican second in 10.05 seconds. South Africa’s Marko Ferreira took the bronze with 10.16 seconds. Jamaica's Gary Card (centre) is beaten to the finish line by American Tate Taylor in the men's 100m on Thursday's second day of the 2026 World Athletics Under 20 championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Taylor ran a personal best 9.94 seconds to win while Card was second in 10.05 seconds. At right is Great Britain's Jake Odey- Jordan who was fifth. Maxwell got the edge over Douglas at the start and held off the Jamaican to the tape, running 11.14 seconds (-0.1m/s). Douglas finished second in 11.17 seconds with Italy’s Kelly Ann Maevane Doualla Edimo third in 11.27 seconds. Theianna-Lee Terrelonge was sixth in 11.37 seconds It was the first time in 10 years an American won the women’s 100m and snapped the four-championships winning streak by the Jamaicans – Briana Williams in 2018, Tina Clayton in 2021 and 2022 and Alana Reid in 2024. Also on Thursday, thrower Able Mills failed to record a legal throw in both the women’s discus and shot put finals that were held within two hours of each other. Mills had thrown distances close to her lifetime bests to qualify for both finals but failed to make a legal mark in either. Jamaica also failed to qualify any runner in the 400m finals set for Friday afternoon, all four failing to get past their semifinals. Jabari Matheson who was running his fourth 400m race in two days, placed sixth in his semi-final in 47.29 seconds, the first time he failed to go under the 47.00 second mark at the championships. Jason Pitter failed to get up to his high standards, and was sixth in his semi-final in 46.50 seconds after he advanced on time from the first round. Daniellia Dixon was fifth in her semi-final in 53.77 seconds and Shameika McLean, who had run three times since the start of the championships, just failed to get into the final after placing fourth in her semis in 54.24 seconds. -Paul A Reid

OREGON, United States — Jamaica will have strong representation in the 200m finals at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships on Thursday after world leaders Gary Card, Shanoya Douglas and Theianna-Lee Terrelonge successfully advanced through Wednesday’s semi-finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Card, who was sixth in the final two years ago in Lima, Peru, won his semi-final race in 10.16 seconds (0.1m/s), slower than his 10.07 seconds in the first round, beating Danish Muhammad Roslee of Malaysia— 10.36 seconds and Richard Machata of Slovakia— 10.38 seconds. American medal prospect Tate Taylor led the qualifying with 10.06 seconds (0.1m/s) followed by South Africa’s Marko Ferreira, who ran 10.13 seconds. Both Douglas and Terrelonge ran 11.21 seconds, but Douglas won her race without hardly breaking a sweat, finishing ahead of American Mariah Maxwell’s 11.25 seconds (0.1m/s) with Germany’s Emma Goretzka third in 11.40 seconds. Terrelonge was second, behind Mia Maxwell, who won with 11.13 seconds, the fastest of the round, with Xenia Buri setting a Swiss Under-20 national record of 11.23 seconds to also advance. — Paul A Reid  

OREGON, United States — Jamaica’s medal hopefuls Gary Card, Shanoya Douglas and Theianna-Lee Terrelonge advanced to the semi-finals of the men’s and women’s 100m on the opening day of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships at Hayward Field. The trio progressed after strong performances in the first round on Wednesday, with the semi-finals set for the same day and the finals scheduled for Thursday’s second session. Card eased his way to winning his heat in 10.07 seconds (0.3m/s), finishing ahead of China’s Hongyu Dai, who clocked 10.29 seconds. He will face Guyana’s Onesi Dunn and South Africa’s Mukona Manavhela in the semi-finals. His teammate Dontae Watson failed to advance after placing fifth in his heat in 10.46 seconds (1.4m/s). In the women’s event, Douglas and Terrelonge both won their heats to secure automatic qualification. Douglas produced a dominant performance, clocking 11.35 seconds (0.4m/s) to finish ahead of Czechia’s Klara Kederova and South Africa’s Rume Burger, who both ran 11.56 seconds. Douglas will line up against one of the highly rated American twins Mariah Maxwell and Guyana’s Athaleyha Hinkson in the semi-finals, while Terrelonge will face the other twin, Mia Maxwell, and former Edwin Allen High teammate Alexxe Henry of Trinidad and Tobago. Jamaica also advanced to the final of the mixed 4x400m relay, with Jabari Matheson, Shameika McLean, Jordan Rehedul and Kristen Herbert winning their semi-final heat in 3:21.47. Matheson, who ran 43.65 seconds on the opening leg, said the team’s focus was on executing their race plan and securing a place in the final. “It was a good race. We just need to come out here and just execute and get to the finals. We are the first one to get on the track as the Jamaicans, so we just come out here to set the pace for the rest of the athletes as well, so I'm very happy we won and advanced,” he told Observer Online. Meanwhile, Jamaica’s shot put representatives Nkosana Johnson and Kamari Kennedy failed to advance to the final, finishing at the bottom of their respective groups. Johnson recorded a best throw of 17.63m, while Kennedy managed 17.15m. — Paul A Reid

OREGON, USA —Expectations are high in the Jamaican camp as the 2026 World Athletics Under-20 Championships gets underway at the fabled Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene Tuesday. There are hopes that the Jamaican team will get off to a fast start with World Under- 20 leaders Shanoya Douglas and Gary Card set to lead the way in their respective 100m events that will be staged over the first two days of the five-day championships that are being held in the United States for the second time in 12 years after being held here in 2014. Douglas leads both the women’s 100m and 200m World Under-20 rankings with Card at the top of the men’s 100m. Despite a tedious travel day on Monday and getting into Eugene early Tuesday morning, team manager Keith Wellington told the Jamaica Observer yesterday the young athletes were dealing with the situation admirably. “The team is in fairly good shape and spirits despite the late arrival,” Wellington said, adding the athletes had a light training session yesterday at the designated training facility. Nine Jamaicans will contest individual events on today’s opening day with the qualification and finals of the men’s shot put and the Mixed 4x400m Relay set to be decided. The first two rounds of the men’s and women’s 100m will be held Tuesday with the finals set to be run on Wednesday and this highly anticipated event could steal most of the attention. Douglas will be seeking to upgrade her bronze in the 200m from the 2024 staging in Lima, Peru, while Card will hope to make amends for his sixth place finish in the 100m. Douglas, who swept the the double at the ISSA Champs, the CARIFTA Games and the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) national junior championships, leads the women’s 100m with her personal best 10.98 seconds set in March at the ISSA Champs and the expectations are for the American twins Mia and Mariah Maxwell to provide her with the most competition. Douglas will be hoping to win the fourth straight 100m gold in the event by a Jamaican, following in the footsteps of Tina Clayton who won in Nairobi, Kenya in 2021 and defended her title a year later in Cali, Colombia and Alana Reid who won two years ago in Lima. Theianna-Lee Terrelonge failed to get past the first round two years ago and after running 11.13 seconds this season, is expected to advance to the final as well. Card is in the shape of his life, having also shaken off persistent injuries and his 9.93 seconds is tied for third best all time and will be the man to beat. Dontae Watson, who was second at the JAAA Championships, could have to beat his lifetime best 10.39 seconds, if he is to get into the second round. Joel Morgan and Kevongaye Fowler will race in the men’s and women’s 800m first round as they seek a place in the semi-finals set for Thursday. Kamari Kennedy and Nkosana Johnson will hope to get into the men’s shot put finals set for the evening session and will be asked to throw 19.50m to qualify automatically or be in the top 12. Johnson has a personal best 18.81m and Kennedy has a 18.65m best, both achieved this year. US-based Able Mills, who won the CARIFTA Games double, is the only Jamaican female field event athlete named in the team and will contest the first round of the women’s discus and has won her last four competitions. Jamaica will also be seeking their first medal in the Mixed 4x400m Relay that will be decided Tuesday as well.