World Athletics U20 Championships Explained

The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category (19 years old or younger on 31 December in the year of the competition.^{[1] [2]}

The competition was launched as the IAAF World Junior Championships in Athletics in 1986 and renamed to IAAF World U20 Championships in November 2015. The current name was adapted with the name change of the sports governing body in 2019.

Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby is the most successful athlete at the championships, having won one gold and four silver in individual and relay sprinting events between 2000 and 2004. Chris Nelloms, Davidson Ezinwa and Dexter Lee share the position of most successful male athlete, at four medals each.

Championships

Edition	Year	Events	Host City	Host Country	Date	Venue	Top of the medal table	Nations	Athletes	Men	Women
1	1986	41	Athens		16–20 July	Athens Olympic Stadium		142	1135	752	383
2	1988	41	Sudbury		27–31 July	Laurentian University Stadium		123	1024	574	450
3	1990	41	Plovdiv		8–12 August	Deveti Septemvri Stadium		87	987	606	381
4	1992	41	Seoul		16–20 September	Seoul Olympic Stadium		90	954	535	419
5	1994	42	Lisbon		20–24 July	Estádio Universitário de Lisboa		143	1139	674	465
6	1996	41	Sydney		20–25 August	Sydney International Athletic Centre		142	1049	640	409
7	1998	43	Annecy		28 July – 2 August	Parc des Sports		169	1156	657	499
8	2000	43	Santiago		17–22 October	Estadio Nacional de Chile		151	1122	638	484
9	2002	43	Kingston		16–21 July	Independence Park		159	1069	630	439
10	2004	44	Grosseto		12–18 July	Stadio Olimpico Comunale		168	1261	680	581
11	2006	44	Beijing		15–20 August	Chaoyang Sport Centre		176	1350	742	608
12	2008	44	Bydgoszcz		8–13 July	Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium		165	1408	757	651
13	2010	44	Moncton		19–25 July	Moncton Stadium		163	1313	746	567
14	2012	44	Barcelona		10–15 July	Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys		171	1566	856	710
15	2014	44	Eugene		22–27 July	Hayward Field		175	1546	831	715
16	2016	44	Bydgoszcz		19–24 July	Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium		140	1359
17	2018	44	Tampere		10–15 July	Tampere Stadium		158	1462
18	2021	45	Nairobi		17–22 August	Moi International Sports Centre		116	958	523	435
19	2022	45	Cali		2–7 August	Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero		145	1533	824	709
20	2024	45	Lima		26–31 August			134	1720
21	2026	45	Eugene			Hayward Field

The 2016 Championships were due to be held in Kazan, Russia before the IAAF's suspension of the All-Russia Athletic Federation, which prohibits Russia from hosting international competitions. The championships were relocated as a result.^{[2] [3]}

All-time medal table

As of 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships.

Championships records

Men

Event	Record	Athlete	Nation	Date	Meet	Place	Age
100 m	9.91 WU20R	Letsile Tebogo		2 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[4]
200 m	19.96	Blessing Afrifah		4 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[5]
		Letsile Tebogo
400 m	44.58	Anthony Pesela		21 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya		[6]
800 m	1:43.76	Emmanuel Wanyonyi		22 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[7]
1500 m	3:35.53	Abdalaati Iguider		15 July 2004	2004 Championships	Grosseto, Italy
3000 m	7:42.09	Tadese Worku		18 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[8]
5000 m	13:08.57	Abreham Cherkos		13 July 2008	2008 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland
110 m hurdles (0.99 m)	12.72 WJR	Sasha Zhoya		21 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[9]
400 m hurdles	48.51	Kerron Clement		16 July 2004	2004 Championships	Grosseto, Italy
3000 m steeplechase	8:06.10	Conseslus Kipruto		15 July 2012	2012 Championships	Barcelona, Spain	[10]
High jump	2.37 m WJR	Dragutin Topić		12 August 1990	1990 Championships	Plovdiv, Bulgaria
		Steve Smith		20 September 1992	1992 Championships	Seoul, South Korea
Pole vault	5.82 m	Armand Duplantis		14 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland	[11]
Long jump	8.20 m	James Stallworth		9 August 1990	1990 Championships	Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Triple jump	17.27 m	Jaydon Hibbert		5 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[12]
Shot put (6 kg)	22.20 m	Jacko Gill		11 July 2012	2012 Championships	Barcelona, Spain
	22.30 m X			19 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	[13]
	23.34 m X[14]	Konrad Bukowiecki		19 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	[15]
Discus throw (1.75 kg)	69.81 m	Mykolas Alekna		22 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[16]
Hammer throw (6 kg)	85.57 m WJR	Ashraf Amgad Elseify		14 July 2012	2012 Championships	Barcelona, Spain	[17]
Javelin throw	86.48 m WJR	Neeraj Chopra		23 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	[18]
Decathlon	8425 pts	Tomas Järvinen		29–30 August 2024	2024 Championships	Lima, Peru		[19]
10,000 m walk (track)	39:24.85	Rayen Cherni		30 August 2024	2024 Championships	Lima, Peru		[20]
4 × 100 m relay	38.51 WU20R	Mihlali Xhotyeni Sinesipho Dambile Letlhogonolo Moleyane Benjamin Richardson		22 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[21]
4 × 400 m relay	3:01.09 WJR	Brandon Johnson LaShawn Merritt Jason Craig Kerron Clement		18 July 2004	2004 Championships	Grosseto, Italy

Decathlon disciplines

Event	Record	Score	Athlete	Nation	Date	Meet	Place	Age
100 m	10.51	973 pts	Ashley Moloney		10 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland		[22]
Long jump	7.74 m	995 pts	Cedric Dubler		22 July 2014	2014 Championships	Eugene, United States
Shot put (6 kg)	16.51 m	883 pts	Yordanis García		16 August 2006	2006 Championships	Beijing, China		[23]
High jump	2.15 m		Attila Zsivoczky		21 August 1996	1996 Championships	Sydney, Australia
400 m	46.86	965 pts	Ashley Moloney		10 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland		[24]
110 m hurdles (0.99 m)	13.74	1008 pts	Ayden Owens		11 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland		[25]
Discus throw (1.750 kg)	51.67 m	905 pts	Santiago Ford		20 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland
Pole vault	5.00 m	910 pts	Ilya Shkurenyov		21 July 2010	2010 Championships	Moncton, Canada
			Mathias Ako		23 July 2014	2014 Championships	Eugene, United States
Javelin throw	71.59 m	914 pts	Niklas Kaul		20 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland		[26]
1500 m	4:21.35	802 pts	Kevin Mayer		21 July 2010	2010 Championships	Moncton, Canada

Defunct events

Event	Record	Athlete	Nation	Date	Meet	Place	Age
10,000 m	27:21.08	Rhonex Kipruto		10 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland		[27]
20 kilometres road run	59:27	Metaferia Zeleke		31 July 1988	1988 Championships	Sudbury, Canada		[28]
2,000 m steeplechase	5:28.56	Jon Azkueta		20 July 1986	1986 Championships	Athens, Greece

Women

Event	Record	Athlete	Nation	Date	Meet	Place	Age
100 m	10.95	Tina Clayton		3 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[29]
200 m	21.84	Christine Mboma		21 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[30]
400 m	50.50	Ashley Spencer		13 July 2012	2012 Championships	Barcelona, Spain	[31]
800 m	1:59.13	Roisin Willis		3 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[32]
1500 m	4:04.27	Birke Haylom		6 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[33]
3000 m	8:41.76	Beyenu Degefa		20 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	[34]
5000 m	14:39.71	Medina Eisa		27 August 2024	2024 Championships	Lima, Peru		[35]
100 m hurdles	12.77	Kerrica Hill		6 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[36]
400 m hurdles	54.70	Lashinda Demus		19 July 2002	2002 Championships	Kingston, Jamaica
3000 m steeplechase	9:12.71	Sembo Almayew		29 August 2024	2024 Championships	Lima, Peru		[37]
High jump	2.00 m	Alina Astafei		29 July 1988	1988 Championships	Sudbury, Canada
Pole vault	4.55 m	Angelica Moser		21 July 2016	2016 Championships	Bydgoszcz, Poland	[38]
Long jump	6.82 m	Fiona May		30 July 1988	1988 Championships	Sudbury, Canada
Triple jump	14.62 m WJR	Tereza Marinova		25 August 1996	1996 Championships	Sydney, Australia
Shot put	18.76 m	Cheng Xiaoyan		21 July 1994	1994 Championships	Lisbon, Portugal
Discus throw	68.24 m	Ilke Wyludda		31 July 1988	1988 Championships	Sudbury, Canada
Hammer throw	71.64 m	Silja Kosonen		21 August 2021	2021 Championships	Nairobi, Kenya	[39]
Javelin throw	63.52 m	Adriana Vilagoš		2 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[40]
Heptathlon	6470 pts	Carolina Klüft		19–20 July 2002	2002 Championships	Kingston, Jamaica
10,000 m walk (track)	42:47.25 WJR	Anežka Drahotová		23 July 2014	2014 Championships	Eugene, United States	[41]
4 × 100 m relay	42.59 WU20R	Serena Cole Tina Clayton Kerrica Hill Tia Clayton		5 August 2022	2022 Championships	Cali, Colombia		[42]
4 × 400 m relay	3:27.60 WJR	Alexandria Anderson Ashlee Kidd Stephanie Smith Natasha Hastings		18 July 2004	2004 Championships	Grosseto, Italy

Heptathlon disciplines

Event	Record	Score	Athlete	Nation	Date	Meet	Place	Age
100 m hurdles	13.24	1089 pts	Nadine Visser		22 July 2014	2014 Championships	Eugene, United States
High jump	1.94 m	1158 pts	Morgan Lake		22 July 2014	2014 Championships	Eugene, United States
Shot put	14.38 m	819 pts	Sarah Lagger		12 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland		[43]
200 m	23.78	1002 pts	Svetla Dimitrova		29 July 1988	1988 Championships	Sudbury, Canada
Long jump	6.35 m	959 pts	Tatyana Chernova		16 August 2006	2006 Championships	Beijing, China
Javelin throw	54.16 m	941 pts	Justine Robbeson		17 July 2004	2004 Championships	Grosseto, Italy
800 m	2:09.37	974 pts	Agathe Guillemot		13 July 2018	2018 Championships	Tampere, Finland		[44]

Defunct event

Mixed

Disqualifications

Doping

Several athletes have been stripped of medals due to doping.^[46]

Athlete	Nation	Sex	Event	Result	Year
		Men		Silver	1986
		Men		Gold	1994
		Women		Gold	2000
		Women		Gold	2010
		Women		Gold	2010
		Men		Gold	2016
				Silver
		Men			2008

Age falsification

Two athletes subsequently lost their medals as a result of fraudulently misstating their age on official documents: Bahrain's 2006 steeplechase silver medallist Tareq Mubarak Taher and Morocco's Ahmed Baday (1998 5000 metres bronze). In addition to this, later analysis of Moses Kiptanui's age when having won the 1990 1500m showed he was marginally over age (aged 19 years, 315 days) at the time of his victory, though this result has not been rescinded.^[46]

Title defenses

Given the age limitations on the competition it is rare that athletes get the opportunity to defend previous individual titles. A total of 22 athletes have managed this feat, eight of them men and fourteen women.^[46] In addition to this Anita Weyermann won the 3000 m title after taking the 1500 m title two years earlier.

Men

Athlete	Nation	Event	Years
		1500 metres	1986–88
		100 metres	2008–10
		3000 metres steeplechase	2008–10
		Shot put	2010–12
		Hammer throw	2012–14
		400 metres hurdles	2014–16
		Triple jump	2014–16
		Long jump	2021–22
		100 metres	2021–22

Women

Athlete	Nation	Event	Years
		Heptathlon	1986–88
		Discus throw	1986–88
		100 metres hurdles	1990–92
		5000 metres walk	1994–96
		Javelin throw	1996–98
		High jump	2000–02
		Hammer throw	2000–02
		Heptathlon	2000–02
		Discus throw	2002–04
		Hammer throw	2006–08
		800 metres	2008–10
		3000 metres	2008–10
		Triple jump	2008–10
		Pole vault	2010–12
		Javelin	2021–22
		Shot put	2021–22
		100 metres	2021–22
		Heptathlon	2021–22
		100 metres hurdles	2022-24

Doubles

A total of fifteen athletes have won two individual titles at the same championships (nine men, six women). The majority of these are sprint or long-distance combinations, although Andrew Howe (200 m and long jump), Margus Hunt (discus throw and shot put) and Morgan Lake (high jump and heptathlon) managed to win novel doubles.^[46] Many others achieved a double between an individual victory and being a member of a winning relay team.

Men

Athlete	Nation	Events	Year
		5000 metres, 10,000 metres	1986
		100 metres, 200 metres	1992
		5000 metres, 10,000 metres	1992
		5000 metres, 10,000 metres	1994
		100 metres, 200 metres	1996
		5000 metres, 10,000 metres	1996
		100 metres, 200 metres	1998
		200 metres, long jump	2004
		Discus throw, shot put	2006
		100 metres, 200 metres	2024

Women

Athlete	Nation	Events	Year
		3000 metres, 5000 metres	1998
		100 metres, 200 metres	2000
		3000 metres, 5000 metres	2002
		100 metres, 200 metres	2006
		100 metres, 200 metres	2012
		High jump, heptathlon	2014
		100 metres, 200 metres	2018[47]
		Long jump, triple jump	2021

See also

• World Para Athletics Junior Championships

External links

• Official website
• Overview of the championships
• List of medallists at gbrathletics.com (1986-2004)
• World Athletics U20 Championships Facts and Figures Statistics handbook for Cali 22

Notes and References

1. Web site: IAAF Competition Rules . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070318013306/http://www.iaaf.org/newsfiles/23484.pdf#page=94 . 18 March 2007 .
2. Web site: Official bids received for hosting 2016 IAAF Events. 28 December 2015. IAAF.
3. Web site: IAAF provisionally suspends Russian Member Federation ARAF. 13 November 2015. iaaf.org.
4. Web site: 100m Final Results. World Athletics. 2 August 2022. 18 August 2022.
5. Web site: 200 Metres Men – Final – Results. World Athletics. 4 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
6. Web site: 400 Metres Men – Final – Results. World Athletics. 21 August 2021. 21 August 2021.
7. Web site: 800 Metres Men – Final – Results. World Athletics. 22 August 2021. 22 August 2021.
8. Web site: 3000 Metres Men – Final Results. World Athletics. 18 August 2021. 18 August 2021.
9. Web site: Men's 110m Hurdles Final Results. World Athletics. 21 August 2021. 22 August 2021.
10. Web site: 3000 Metres Steeplechase Results. IAAF. 15 July 2012. 10 July 2018.
11. Web site: Pole Vault Men – Final – Results. IAAF. 14 July 2018. 14 July 2018.
12. Web site: Triple Jump Men – Final – Results. World Athletics. 5 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
13. Web site: Shot Put (6kg) Men – Final Results. IAAF. 19 July 2016. 10 July 2018.
14. Konrad Bukowiecki had originally finished first in 2016 but he later tested positive for a banned substance higenamine and his results from the championships were nullified.
15. Web site: Shot Put Results. IAAF. 19 July 2016. 19 July 2016.
16. Web site: Discus Throw (1.750kg) Men − Final − Results. World Athletics. 22 August 2021. 22 August 2021.
17. Web site: Hammer Throw (6kg) Men – Final Results. IAAF. 14 July 2012. 10 July 2018.
18. Web site: Javelin Throw Results. IAAF. 23 July 2016. 23 July 2016.
19. Web site: Men's Decathlon Results. World Athletics. 21 September 2024.
20. Web site: Men's 10000m Race Walk Results. World Athletics. 18 September 2024.
21. Web site: 4 x 100 Metres Relay Men − Final − Results. World Athletics. 22 August 2021. 22 August 2021.
22. Web site: 100m Results. IAAF. 10 July 2018. 27 July 2018.
23. Web site: Shot Put (6kg) Round Results. IAAF. 16 August 2006. 1 August 2018.
24. Web site: 400m Results. IAAF. 10 July 2018. 27 July 2018.
25. Web site: 110m Hurdles Results. IAAF. 11 July 2018. 27 July 2018.
26. Web site: Decathlon Results. IAAF. 20 July 2016. 20 July 2016.
27. Web site: 10,000 Metres Men – Final Results. IAAF. 10 July 2018. 10 July 2018.
28. Web site: World U20 Championships Records. World Athletics. 15 July 2020.
29. Web site: 100 Metres Women – Final – Results. World Athletics. 4 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
30. Web site: 200 Metres Women − Final − Results. World Athletics. 21 August 2021. 21 August 2021.
31. Web site: 400 Metres Results. IAAF. 13 July 2012. 12 July 2018.
32. Web site: 800 Metres Women – Final – Results. World Athletics. 3 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
33. Web site: 1500 Metres Women – Final – Results. World Athletics. 6 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
34. Web site: 3000m Results. IAAF. 20 July 2016. 20 July 2016.
35. Web site: Women's 5000m Final Results. World Athletics. 4 September 2024.
36. Web site: 100 Metres Hurdles Women – Final – Results. World Athletics. 6 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
37. Web site: Women's 3000m Steeplechase Results. World Athletics. 5 September 2024.
38. Web site: Pole Vault Results. IAAF. 21 July 2016. 21 July 2016.
39. Web site: Hammer Throw Women − Final − Results. World Athletics. 21 August 2021. 21 August 2021.
40. Web site: Javelin Throw Women – Final – Results. World Athletics. 2 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
41. Web site: 10000m Race Walk Results. IAAF. 23 July 2014. 24 July 2014.
42. Web site: Women's 4×100m Final Results. World Athletics. 5 August 2022. 19 August 2022.
43. Web site: Shot Put Results. IAAF. 12 July 2018. 31 July 2018.
44. Web site: 800m Results. IAAF. 13 July 2018. 1 August 2018.
45. Web site: 4 x 400 Metres Relay Mixed – Final – Results. World Athletics. 5 August 2022. 7 August 2022.
46. https://media.aws.iaaf.org/competitioninfo/1b820a45-e3d7-40f4-9d5d-7a3abea7f433.pdf IAAF World Junior Championships Eugene 2014 Facts and Figures
47. Web site: World U20 Championships Williams Duplantis Diaz . worldathletics.org . 19 April 2020.