Contact: Melissa Beasley
Communications Coordinator, USATF
In Santiago, via email: Mbeasley@usatf.org
http://www.usatf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, October 20, 2000
Ames Advances to Discus Final
SANTIAGO, Chile - Julian 'Dan' Ames advanced to Saturday's discus final to highlight Team USA's Friday performance at the 8th IAAF World Junior Track & Field Championships. Team USA also lost a key member of its men's relay squad when 100 and 200 meter sprinter Monzavous 'Rae' Edwards went down with a leg injury in his semifinal flight of the 200 meter dash.
Julian 'Dan' Ames (UCLA) advanced to Saturday's final in the men's discus with a throw of 53.63m/175-11. Ames, the 2000 U.S. Junior discus champion, finished third in his flight and sixth overall. Omer Inan (Stanford), who celebrated his 19th birthday on Friday, threw 48.90m/160-5 in his flight, did not advance to the finals.
In the semifinals of the men's 200 meter dash, Monzavous 'Rae' Edwards (Bevill St. CC (Ala.)) injured his left leg about 150 meters into the race, he did not finish and was helped off the track. Edwards, who was taken to a hospital for x-rays, was diagnosed with a stress fracture.
Jamie Walker (Arkansas) began the first day of heptathlon competition. Walker, the 2000 U.S. Junior heptathlon champion, ended the day in 15th place with a score of 3066. Walker clocked 14.57 in the 100-meter hurdles, cleared 1.62m/5-3.75 in the high jump, put 10.85m/35-7.25 in the shot and ran 25.71 in the 200 meters. Competition concludes Saturday with the long jump, the javelin and the 800m run.
Neither Lavada Hill (SMU) nor Yolanda Thompson (Florida) qualified for the finals of the women's triple jump. Hill, the 2000 U.S. Junior triple jump champion, finished 21st with her jump of 12.13m/39-9.75 in the prelims. Thompson, the 2000 U.S. Junior triple jump runner up, did not record a mark.
In the finals of the 10,000k race walk, high schooler Robyn Stevens (Vacaville HS (CA)), finished 16th with a personal best time of 52:03.24. Russians Lyudmila Yefimkina and Tatyana Kozlova took the gold and the silver respectively with times of 44:07.74 and 44:24.43. Germany's Sabine Zimmer won the bronze with a time of 46:49.97.
In the men's 1500 meter prelims, 2000 U.S. Junior runner up Tommy Bonn (Texas A&M), failed to qualify for Saturday's final. Bonn finished 21st in the prelims with a time of 3:52.69.
Lastly, in the finals of the 400 meters, Hamdan O. Al-Bishi, from Saudi Arabia, ran the second fastest time in juniors history (44.66) en route to the gold medal. The record for the fastest 400 meters by a junior is held by American Steve Lewis (43.87) in Seoul, September 28, 1988.
QUOTES FROM SANTIAGO DAY 4
Cathy Sellers, U.S. Junior Team Leader
On injury to Monzavous 'Rae' Edwards: "We were really disappointed that he wasn't able to complete the race, we thought that he had good shot to win a medal for us in the 200. He had been having problems with the hamstring and the shin from back in July when we competed in Canada. They x-rayed the tibia at that time and said that it was a stress fracture, but it looked like it had healed. Here it bothered him through the 100's and that was the predominate site of pain for him.
How will Edwards injury affect the men's 4x100 relay: "This will have a dramatic effect on the 4x100 relay, as it always does when you lose your number one runner, but we feel we have a good stable of sprinters that will help us to get the handoffs around."
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