BYDGOSZCZ, Poland – Canada finished eighth in the women’s 4X400 relay on Sunday to conclude the world junior track and field championships.
The U.S., dominated the race clocking first in 3:30.19 with Ukraine second in 3:34.20 and Australia third in 3:34.23.
The Canadians were about a second and a half slower than in Saturday’s semifinal heat finishing in 3:39.27. The Canadian runners were Alyssa Johnson of Winnipeg, Jessica Parry of London, Ont., Sarah Wells of Unionville, Ont., and Natalie Geiger of Stouffville, Ont.
Besides the women’s 4X400, other Canadian highlights this week included: Tyler Daniel Harper of Brampton, Ont., finishing sixth in the men’s 400; Kendra Schaaf of Craven, Sask., seventh in the women’s 5,000; Tamara Jewett of Toronto eighth in the women’s 3,000; Mohammed Ahmed of St. Catharines, Ont., ninth in the men’s 10,000; Jessica Furlan of Regina ninth in the women’s 3,000 steeplechase, Evan Dunfee of Richmond, B.C., 10th in the men’s 10 kilometre racewalk; and Ariane Beaumont-Courteau of Montreal 12th in the women’s pole vault.
Full results at IAAF.org.
Tamara Jewett finishes eighth in women’s 3,000 at world junior track and field championships
BYDGOSZCZ, Poland – Tamara Jewett of Toronto set a personal best time en route to an eighth place finish on Saturday in the women’s 3,000-metre at the world junior track and field championships.
Mercy Cheron of Kenya won the gold medal in 8:58.07 with Bizunesh Urgesa of Ethiopia second and her compatriot Frethiwat Goshu third at 9:03.76. Jewett, a member of Canada’s cross country running world team in March, was eighth in 9:15.74.
"I’m very pleased, I felt great out there," said Jewett, 18, who improved her personal best by eight seconds. "The competition was really strong and I was very well prepared for the race. I was relaxed and focused. I set out a race plan and it ended up that all my splits were faster than expected."
In the women’s 4X400 relay, Canada qualified for the final finishing fourth in its opening heat in 3:37.84. The Canadian runners were Alyssa Johnson of Winnipeg, Jessica Parry of London, Ont., Sarah Wells of Unionville, Ont., and Natalie Geiger of Stouffville, Ont.
"It’s a great achievement for us to make the final," said Geiger. "When I got that baton, I was just focused on passing that third place girl. I gained ground on her and that helped us get the time we needed. I think I had my fastest relay spit ever. And we saw today there are areas we can improve upon to go even faster in the final."
The U.S., dominated the semis clocking 3:29.54 followed by Australia in 3:35.22. After that, the next six finalists were within a second of each other.
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