Tate Taylor and Mia Maxwell stormed to a pair of wins in the 100m for Team USA to bring a dominant close to the second day of events in Eugene at the 2026 World Athletics U20 Championships on Thursday.
After a busy morning session of qualifiers and the heptaltathon continuing to take shape, the evening portion of the schedule pushed forward as five champions took the podium with Taylor and Maxwell leading the way.
In the men’s 100m, Taylor pressed into a 9.94 personal best over Jamaica’s Gary Card, who took second in 10.05 and South Africa’s Marko Ferreria 10.16 for the bronze.
“There were some tweaks I was looking to fix after the semi-finals and I think I executed those tweaks pretty well,” Taylor said. “One I got out of the top end, I knew it was gonna be a good race for sure. Most importantly, I’m excited for the 4x100m, trying to get my guys on through that race and try to get them a gold medal as well. Just giving thanks to God and the glory because Jesus is keeping it amazing.”
Maxwell took the women’s 100m in 11.14 in a narrow win as she slipped past Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas who finished second in 11.17 while Italy’s Kelly Doualla got bronze in 11.27.
“As soon as I got out of the blocks I knew the race was mine,” Maxwell said. “I continued to execute through and run through the line like I have been in practice. It’s definitely a blessing. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
China’s Yixin Su tossed a U20 world leading 61.06m in the women’s discus on her final throw for the gold as Team USA’s Jaslene Massey was second with a 58.41m toss and Marina Hadjicosta landed bronze with a 54.88m for Cypress.
“Hayward Field feels like a lucky charm for China in discus,” Su said. “My sister was here in 2022 and was a champion in discus. The audience gives us so much encouragement when we compete. It just seems to be a lucky place for Chinese throwers to be. I want to follow in my sisters footsteps from back when she competed here a couple of years ago.”
Another U20 record arrived at Hayward Field on Thursday as Nigeria’s Djelika Diarra leaped to a 6.52m win in the women’s long jump for gold over Greece’s Evelyn Mitropoulou (6.44m) and France’s Soudatou Niang (6.34m), while Nigeria’s Jessica Oji threw an 18.08m on her second attempt to get the victory in the women’s shot put as she got past Ecuador’s Belsy Quiñónez (17.90) and Germany’s Emily Scherf (17.23).
