World Athletics Hails ‘Successful’ World U20 Championships in Nairobi

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The World Athletics U-20 Championships in Nairobi have earned their place in the history books with four world U-20 records, 15 championship records, 11 area U-20 records, 68 national U-20 records and 10 national senior records.

The championships ended with a flourish on Sunday 22nd August as the Jamaican women and the South African men broke world U20 records in the 4x100m relays, adding to the two world U20 records set by France’s Sasha Zhoya in the men’s 110m hurdles.

The home team Kenya topped the medal table with eight gold, one silver and seven bronze medals, ahead of Finland (4, 1, 0), Nigeria (4, 0, 3), Ethiopia (3, 7, 2) and Jamaica (3, 6, 2).

From more than 100 countries that competed in Nairobi, 18 teams won gold medals, 35 won medals and 63 had top eight finishes.

Kenya, Finland, Nigeria and Botswana were among the countries that had their best ever world U20 championships. Namibia and Israel won their first gold medals and Cyprus won its first medal.

World Athletics President Sebastian Coe hailed the athletes, teams and organisers for their dedication and determination to make this a successful event despite the logistical challenges created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The championships were broadcast to more than 70 countries around the world and every other country had access to a livestream on World Athletics’ YouTube channel.

“These championships have not just taken place, they have been highly successful. We have all been so impressed with the range and depth of talent we have seen from these young athletes,” Coe said.

“The next four years offers unprecedented opportunities for these future champions to move on to the senior World Championships and Olympic stages. I’m really looking forward to seeing many of these young champions rising through the senior ranks.”

Many of the younger athletes who have featured in Nairobi will also have the chance to compete at the next World Athletics U20 Championships, being held in Cali, Colombia, next year.

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