Oh my Bydgoszcz!

If you read a recent post, you know my title is taken from a frequent exclamation attached to photos of athletes (on Twitter) from the just concluded 6 day World Junior Championships (Under 20 version!) held in---Bydgoszcz, Poland!
And yes, this meet DID deserve exclamations!
We saw 10 Meet Records broken (5 for each gender!), as well as many "lesser" records.
But most importantly, we saw a group of athletes who performed at "Olympian" levels while still teenagers--something that seems a lot more prevalent in this decade!
While Americans dominated--this was truly a WORLDwide display of massive youthful talent!

And perhaps none were more "massive" than that shown by Poland's own young hero, Konrad Bukowiecki!
He shattered his own Meet Record in the 6 kg SP, exploding out to 76-7, or 23.34!
He also had a throw of 73-8.75, which initially broke the MR!
Bronson Osborn was the top American, taking the Bronze with his 69-9.50!
Tripp Piperi was 5th, a good showing for the American pair!

BTW, now might be a good time to explain an error I made in my Preview posts!
In some events, I'd said there were 3 Americans competing (and potentially medaling!).
But nations were limited to two per event!
Going off the early provisional entry lists, I'd mistakenly included "alternates" in my predictions.
Best example was in the Men's SP, where I said Jordan Geist might join either Mr Piperi or Mr Osborn on the podium--along with Bukowiecki!
Geist didn't compete!
This happened in several of my event Predictions!

Bukowiecki--who is much bigger than photos I'd seen made him appear--wasn't as proficient in the Discus, his throw of 195-10 taking 5th behind winner Mohamed Mooaz's 208-9!

The Multi's saw some excellent marks.
Germany's Niklos Kaul took the "Junior" Decathlon, his 8162 adding 27 points to the old Meet Record, and about 400 points to his old PR!
Maksim Andraloits was 2nd with 8046 points.
America's Cale Wagner scored 7510 in 8th!

The HSR reign of Kendell Williams ALMOST came to an end in the Heptathlon!
"Almost" meaning ONE point shy!!!
Emma Fitzgerald, concluding a tremendous Senior year of HS, scored 5577 points, just 1 point removed from Williams's HSR!
Behind after 5 events, she whipped out a good JT, setting her up to needing an 800 of 2:25.10 to get the record!
But she fell 0.15 seconds short!
Still, her mark DOES take Williams's Senior Class record from her!!
And she moves from 6th A-T HS to 2nd!
The winner?
Sarah Lagger of Austria scored 5960 points, beating the 5925 of Adriana Rodriguez!

In the "Boys are Men" category falls India's Neeraj Chopra.
His winning Javelin Throw of 283-9 set the MR, as well as the Age 18 record.
In fact, it's better than the Age 19 record also!
He becomes the new National Record holder of India!!
His mark falls just over 6 feet short of making my World DDD!!
South Africa's Johan Grobler finished almost 20 feet behind in 2nd!!

Both Pole Vaults came through with big marks and surprise winners!
For the Women, favored Wilma Murto ended after making 14-5.25, which gave her the Bronze.
Robelys Peinado matched her height, but took the Silver.
Winning was Switzerland's Angelica Moser, her 14-11 getting the Meet Record!
Carson Dingler PR'ed at 13-11.25 in 5th, ahead of teammate Rachel Baxter and youthful phenom Lisa Gunnarson, both reaching just 13-5.25.
For Dingler, she moves from 13th A-T HS to 11th, tied with 1 other!

The Men's PV was--LOADED!
Adam Hague, Chris Nilsen, Mondo Duplantis, all established 18-footers, holding various records of one sort or another!
So when HSR holder Nilsen went out after 17-6.50, about 10 inches short of his PR, things got interesting.
Then Hague was gone after 17-8.50, as well as Emmanouil Karilis, the Greek equivalent of Duplantis!
Speaking of whom, the US High Schooler, competing for Sweden, was gone after 17-10.50.
That left Austria's Kurtis Marschall, and America's Deakin Volz, son of the man who "invented" the "Volzing" technique many years ago, where the Vaulter hand-maneuvers a jiggly bar back onto the pegs as he soars over!
At 18-2.50, Marschall cleared, while Volz missed his first try, then passed to the next height!
Volz made that on his 2nd attempt (3rd, if you include his miss at 18-0.50!), his first-ever 18 footer!!
When Marschall missed his 3 attempts at 18-4.50, and Volz cleared on his 2nd, the shock winner was---well, shocked!!
But he brought himself together, and cleared a HIGHER height, the winning 18-6.50!
(It even amazed the leading PV geek, Becca Peter, aka PoleVaultPower on Twitter!!)

The Hurdles--all 4 events--came through with some great results!
Winning as expected in the Men's 400H, Jamaica's Jaheel Hyde cruised to a 49.03 to beat Sydney McLaughlin's older brother Taylor's PR of 49.45!
Kyron McMaster also got under 50 with his 49.56 in 3rd!

The Women's 400H went to Anna Cockrell, who, if not for Sydney's other-worldly HSR's of 54.46 and 54.15, would have TIED the old HSR of Leslie Maxie, which I saw run in person in 1984!!
As it was, her time of 55.20 DID tie Maxie's mark, but got her "just" the Senior Class record!!
McLaughlin is only a Junior, and could turn Pro before she gets a chance to take the new Senior Class record away from Cockrell!!
Cockrell moves from 4th A-T HS to 2nd, where she's tied with Maxie!
Jamaica's Shannon Kalawan was a far-back 2nd in 56.54!

Marcus Krah took the 110H in 13.25, tying his PR.
He remains 3rd A-T HS!
Krah's US-mate Ameer Lattin took 2nd in 13.30.
As for the Women's 100H--WHOA!!!
The heats were fast!
Oluwatobiloba Amusan (Can we shorten that to Oluwa, please??  LOL) ran 12.99.
Tia Jones ran 13.09, while Alexis Duncan PR'ed with her 13.02, which moved her to 6th A-T HS!
Elvira Herman ran 12.97.
In the final, Herman won it with the Meet Record time of 12.85!
But a shock 2nd was Jamaica's Rushelle Burton, whose 12.87 is the new Age 18 record, breaking Kristi Castlin's mark of 12.91 from 2007!
HS Frosh Tia Jones, aka the HSR holder at 12.84, took 3rd in 12.89, only her 2nd time under 13 seconds!!
A great come-through performance for this amazing young lady!!
Following Jones came her teammate, Alexis Duncan, who broke 13 for the FIRST time, her 12.93 moving her from 6th A-T HS, tied with 1 other, to 3rd!!
The endless assembly line of American 100H women continues unabated!!
Aluwa (sic!) Amusan also got a sub-13, her 12.95 taking just 5th!!
Alicia Barrett of Great Britain was 6th in 13.15!!

The distances produced some surprisingly fast times!!
(Most Championship distance races are run "strategically"!)
The 3000 meter Steeplechases went to Amos Kirui's 8:20.43 and Celliphine Chespol's 9:25.15.
After a 2:51 first K, the Men's pace picked up, with Kirui outlasting Yemane Haileselassie's 8:22.67, Getnet Wale's 8:22.83, and Vincent Rutto's 8:22.84.
America's Kai Benedict PR'ed with 8:49.13 in 14th!!
Chespol's time is the new Meet Record!
She's just 17!!
Tigist Getnet, Age 19, took 2nd in 9:34.08.

Selemon Baraga of Ethiopia won the Men's 5K in 13:21.21 over Djamal Direh of Djibouti, his time being 13:21.50.
Wesley Ledama of Kenya was 3rd in 13:23.34.
The Women's race went to Kalkidan Fentie's 15:29.64.
Emmaculate Chepkirui ran 15:31.12 to take 2nd over Bontu Rebitu's 15:31.93.
After temporarily leading (3000 in 9:34), Anna Rohrer faded to 15:49.42 in 11th!
The 10000 meter Walks (on the track!) went to China's Zhenxia Ma in 45:18.45, and Great Britain's Callum Wilkinson's 40:41.62.
He negative split the race, with 5K's of 21:11 and 19:30!!
Americans went 1-2 in the Women's 800, with Sammy Watson's negative split 2:04.52 prevailing over Aaliyah Miller's 2:05:06.
Miller had been boxed in coming off the final curve, and had to get clear, then sprint hard to take the Silver!
Kipyegon Bett also negative split his 800, winning in 1:44.95, 400's of 52.98 and 51.97!!
Willy Tarbei's 1:45.50 was 2nd.
The US's Brian Bell finished 7th in 1:47.68.
The Men's 1500 was a "walk in the park"---almost literally!--for Kumari Taki, his 3:48.63 being the winning time!
The Men's 10000 gave us a Meet Record!!
Rodgers Kwemoi's 27:25.23 is the new mark, while Aron Kifle was 2nd in 27:26.20, with Jacob Kiplimo nipping his heels with his 27:26.68 in 3rd!
Splits were 13:48 and 13:37.

The Women's 1500 showed Alexa Efraimson with the fastest seed time!
After diminutive Brit Bobby Clay took the field through 800 in 2:14.96, with Efraimson on her shoulder, the African pair of Adanech Anbesa and Fantu Worku took over, with Efraimson attempting to follow.
But as happened in the 2014 race in Eugene, she'd given too much too early, and faded behind teammate Christine Aragon, whose PR of 4:08.71 took Bronze--the first-ever US Women's medal in the 1500!!
It also breaks her own Senior Class record, although she remains 4th A-T HS!!
Anbesa outkicked Worku for the win, 4:08.07 to 4:08.43.
Efraimson was 5th in 4:10.23, while Clay fell off to 7th, her time being 4:13.09!

The 3000 was even better!!
Tall German find Konstanze Klosterhalfen led most of the early race., with a group of 4 or 5 close behind.
They included Katie Rainsberger and Kate Murphy of the US, although Murphy soon drifted off.
When the pace surged into the high-60's (from its earlier 72's and 73's), Rainsberger too fell back.
When the dust had settled, it was Beyenu Degefa's 8:41.76 cutting the tape, destroying the old Meet Record in the process!!
BTW, that old mark belonged to one of those infamous Chinese gals--Zhang Linli's 1992 record!
Dalila Gosa outsprinted Klosterhalfen for the Silver, 8:46.42 to 8:46.74!
Rainsberger held on sufficiently to take 7th in the HSR time of 9:00.62.
Let me clarify!

The old OUTdoor HSR was Lynn Bjorklund's 9:08.6 from 1975!!
When Mary Cain ran 9:02.10 on Seattle's Oversize INdoor track, T&FN said she'd broken Bjorklund's record, noting the circumstances!!
Then Cain ran a legal 9:04.51, also INdoors.
Alexa Efraimson followed a year later with her 9:00.16, also on Seattle's OT!!
Finally, after turning Pro, Cain won the WJC of 2014 with her 8:58.58, again being deemed the HSR holder, or at least the fastest-ever HS'er, even though her Professional status prevented her from legally setting HSR's!!
Soooooo.....along comes Ms Rainsberger's 9:00.62.
Guess what, folks?
Those other times--for all the reasons stated--did NOT remove Bjorklund's name from the Record book!!!
Rainsberger's time DID!!
Murphy finished a creditable 12th in 9:17.01.
Besides the HSR, she also removes Bjorklund's Senior Class record, and moves her from 3rd to 1st on the A-T HS list!!

The sprints were good, but not quite as fast as predicted!
In the Women's 100 heats, Ewe Swoboda ran a windy (2.7) 11.10, while surprising Brit Imani-Lara Lansiquot ran a legal 11.17.
The final went to HS Pro Candace Hill's 11.07, her 2nd fastest-ever time!!
It's the new Meet Record.
It breaks her own HS Pro record, as well as her own HS Pro Junior Class record!!
Swoboda took 2nd, her 11.12 being legal, wind of 0.9.
Another HS Pro, Khalifa St Fort, who runs for Trinidad and Tobago, was 3rd in 11.17.
The Men's 100 went to Noah Lyles's 10.17, with Italy's Filippo Tortu in 2nd with 10.24.

The Women's 200 was won by Bahrain's Edidiong Odiong in 22.84, wind of 0.6.
Evelyn Rivera was 2nd in 23.21, while America's Taylor Bennett was 5th in 23.50.
Michael Norman got the Men's 200 Meet Record with his 20.17 winner!

The 400's had some interesting results.
A Men's 400 heat was "won" by Babaloki Thebe's fast 44.67!
Then he was DQ'ed--lane violation!!
That time was just 0.01 seconds off the MR!!
In the final, Abdelalah Haroun's 44.81 was dominant over the US's Wil London's 45.27.
The Women, though, had a great race!
Lynna Irby was the slight favorite, but you never underestimate those Jamaicans!!
Tiffany James of that island nation was the winner, her 51.32 edging out Irby's PR of 51.39!
Irby moves from 11th A-T HS to 7th!!

Field events--besides those already reported--included--
Bence Halasz taking the Men's Hammer Throw with 265-6, with Adam Kelly taking 8th with his 240 even!
Kristina Rakocevic won the Women's DT with 184-11.
The Women's Javelin was won with a throw of 188-11 by home-nation girl Klaudia Maruszewska!!
Ting Chen gave China a Gold by winning the Women's TJ with her 45-5.25.
Bria Matthews took 4th with her slightly windy (2.1) mark of 44-3.25.
The Men's TJ went to heavily favored Lazaro Martinez of Cuba, his winner measuring 55-11.75!
Yanis David won the Women's LJ, with her 21-0.75 prevailing over Sophie Weissenberg's 21-0!
The Women's HJ went to the 6-3.25 of Michaela Hruba of the Czech Republic, with Ximena Esquival's 6-2.25 in 2nd.
Nicole Greene finished 5th with an even 6 feet.
Cuba's Luis Zayas took the Men's HJ with 7-5.25.
Darius Corbin of the US had a PR day, his 7-4.50 finishing in the Silver position!
He's now 8th A-T HS, tied with 5 others!
Knocked OFF my HS list was oldie Brian Tietjens's 7-3.50, dating from 1981!!
Alina Kenzel took the Women's SP with her 57-8.25.
In 3rd came HS Junior Alyssa Wilson's non-PR of 53-7.
In the Men's LJ Qualifying round, JaMari Ward leapt out to 26-1.50.
This moved him from 23rd A-T HS, tied with 2 others, all the way to 8th, tied with 1 other!!
But he couldn't reproduce that distance in the final, his 25-2.50 taking only 6th!
The winner--with 26-3--was Maykal Maaso!!

Finally---yes, finally!! (Sorry for the length!!)--the Relays!
Where the United States held onto the batons in all 4 races--winning them all!!
Lynna Irby opened the Women's 4X400 with a blazing 51.29 (0.10 faster than her open race PR!!).
400H winner Anna Cockrell had the 2nd leg, while 800 winner Sammy Watson held forth on the anchor, bringing the US home in 3:29.11.
Jamaica was in the mix for awhile, but fell off to a 3:31.01 finishing time, which held off Canada's 3:32.25!
Running without either Noah Lyles or Michael Norman, the US still won the Men's 4X400, time of 3:02.39!
(Imagine what time they'd have run WITH that pair!!)
Botswana took the Silver with their 3:02.81, after having temporarily led the early parts of the race!!
Jamaica was a well-back 3rd in 3:04.83.

The Men's 4X100--WITH Norman opening, and Lyles closing--won it in 38.93 over Japan's 39.01.
Germany and Jamaica were both given times of 39.13, but Germany's prevailed!
The US Women--with Tia Jones starting, and Candace Hill finishing--won easily, their time being 43.69.
France followed in 44.05, with Germany next in 44.18.
I'm sure you've heard this already, but the Lyles brothers--Noah and Josephus--announced they have signed multi-year deals with Adidas---thus erasing their earlier announcement that they'd both be competing for Florida next year!!
Sorry, Gators!!

Friends, that is a WRAP!!!
See you--- day a ???---with my next post---when whatever subject, or set of new results--slaps me in the face first!!