Hickey fourth in shot put in Beijing

BEIJING, China - After an arduous competition, John Hickey (Piermont, N.Y.) claimed fourth place in the men's shot put final on day four of the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships at the Chaoyang Sport Centre in Beijing.

The 2006 U.S. Junior champion, Hickey was fourth in the men's shot put with a heave of 19.86 meters/65 feet 2 inches. This second round attempt was originally called a foul but was reinstated at the end of the competition following a protest by the U.S. team. "It was a good competition," Hickey said once the protest was finally resolved. "The competition was at a level I've never seen before and it motivated me to do well. But after my second throw, the protest threw my concentration. I was frustrated with the controversy, but it helped me to gain experience and I'm a better thrower for it."

In the women's 10,000 meter race walk final, 2006 U.S. Junior champion Catherine Hayes (Oconomowoc, Wisc.) was 18^th, crossing the line in 55 minutes 19.64 seconds. After a demanding two days, 2006 U.S. Junior champion Shana Woods (Long Beach, Calif.) took 12^th in the women's heptathlon with a score of 5,311 points.

2005 World Youth silver medalist Scott Roth (Granite Bay, Calif.) tied for 13^th in the men's pole vault with his clearance of 5.10 meters/16 feet 8.75 inches. "I just had a few bad vaults," Roth said of his competition. "That's the way the pole vault is, I'm not disappointed. It was a great trip."

In the morning session's opening rounds of the women's 4x100-meter relay, the U.S. contingent of Jeneba Tarmoh (San Jose, Calif.), Alexandria Anderson (Chicago, Ill.), Elizabeth Olear (Woodland Hills, Calif.), and Kenyanna Wilson (Phoenix, Ariz.) had the fastest qualifying time for Sunday's final of 43.67 seconds.

The men's team of Evander Wells (Stone Mountain, Ga.), Gordon Mckenzie (Queens, N.Y.), Odell Harris (Wichita, Kan.), and Brandon Myers (Houston, Texas) qualified for Sunday's final with their time of 39.50 seconds.

In the men's 110-meter hurdles semi-final, high school standout Darius Reed (Denver, Colo.) qualified for Sunday's final, coming in third in his heat in 13.83 seconds. 2006 U.S. Junior champion Dennis Martin was fourth in his heat in 13.92.

The U.S. quartet of Sa'de Williams (Los Angles, Calif.), Jessica Young (Columbia, S.C.), Erin Humphrey (Detroit, Mich.), and Brandi Cross (Missouri City, Texas) qualified for Sunday's final by winning their opening round heat in 3 minutes 34.83 seconds. "The object of the game (in the opening rounds) is just to get the baton around the track and that's what we did," said Cross following the race.

On the men's side, Calvin Smith (Tampa, Fla.), Rodney Lockhart (Vaden, Miss.), Quentin Inglehart-Summers (San Antonio, Texas), and Bryshon Nellum (Los Angeles, Calif.) won their heat of the men's 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes 6.07 seconds to qualify for Sunday's final.

Team USA medal tally as of August 19 - Gold (1) Chris Carter (Ogden, Utah), M400H: 50.08 Silver (4) Justin Oliver (Stone Mountain, Ga.), M400: 45.78; Nicole Leach (Philadelphia, Pa.), W400H: 55.55; Gabby Mayo (Raleigh, N.C.), W100: 11.42; Antone Belt (Berkeley Springs, W.V.), MLJ: 7.95m/26-1 Bronze (2) Rebekah Noble (Spokane, Wash.), W800: 2:04.90; Tiffany Ofili (Ypsilanti, Mich.), W100H: 13.37

For more information on the 2006 IAAF World Junior Championships, including results and complete coverage of this year's event, please visit the USATF website at www.usatf.org.