Long-dominating powerhouses to the world track and field, the US, finally came into the spotlight?in Beijing?on Sunday after pocketing three of the ten gold medals on offer at the final day competitions of the six-day IAAF World Junior Championships.

 

All the three athletics titles were taken within 70 minutes, as the Americans retained both men's and women's 4x400m relays as well as the women's 4x100m relay. The trophy of the men's 100m relay went to the South American team of Jamaica, while the US settled for the silver.

 

Kenya and China, leaders on the championships medal table, kept on high at the day six competitions, as the African nation took each apiece and the hosts wrapped up the final day with two silvers and two bronze medals.

 

Irene Jelagat and Mercy Jelimo Kosgei of Kenya took the gold and silver medals in the women's 1,500 meters race, crossing the finish line respectively in 4:08.88 and 4:12.48.

 

China's Pan Saili and Tan Jian grabbed the silver and the bronze respectively at the women's discus throw final, while the title went to Australia's Dani Samuels with a world junior season leading result of 60.63 meters.

 

Zhong Minwei finished third in men's triple jump with 16.29 meters, while Benjamin Compaore from France won the event as the 19-year-old secured his first international title with a 16.61-meter third attempt, setting a world junior season leading record and renewing his previous personal best of 16.34 meters.

 

Ethiopia, Uzbekistan, Poland and France emerged the late cream at the biyearly championships, which have the flavor of cradling future stars, with each claiming a gold on the final day.

 

World leading long-distance runners Tariku Bekele and Abreham Cherkos Feleke, both from Ethiopia, finished one-two at the men's 5,000 meters final as the duo clocked 13 minutes and 31.34 seconds and 13:35.95 respectively for the gold and silver medals.

 

Svetlana Radzivil jumped over the height of 1.91 meters to trophy Uzbekistan with the first gold medal, beating China's Zheng Xingjuan, who set the season best result of 1.92 at Zhengzhou in May.

 

Artur Noga stormed for a men's 110 meters hurdles title to claim the first gold medal of the junior worlds for Poland as the 18-year-old broke the championships record set by himself in Saturday's semifinals to time 13.23 seconds. Samuel Coco-Viloin of France settled for a silver with a national junior record of 13.35.

 

The Polish even showed bigger ambition after taking the junior worlds gold medal.

 

"I will come back again in two years to beat Liu Xiang in the Olympics," he said.

 

Bekele, 19, started in the main group racing the men's 5,000 meters and outran to overtake the lead from Uganda's Simon Ayeko from as early as the fifth lap, denying a late effort from compatriot Feleke, who began his sprint to follow Bekele with two laps to go.

 

"It was a difficult race," commented Bekele in the mixed zone after being titled. "But I overcame it. That is what I was expected to do."

 

"Yes, my performance was fine," said Feleke. "I went out too hard in the first six laps. I had run out of oxygen.

 

"I'm very happy for Tariku. He is my best friend, like a brother," he added.

 

Kenyan pair Joseph Ebuya and Mang'ata Kimai Ndiwa finished respectively third, at 11.59 trailing the leader Bekele, and fourth with a further 1.10 seconds behind.

 

"I'm not satisfied with my result," said Ebuya. "I was not injured or had any problems with my body. The Ethiopian athletes are just too strong."

 

(Xinhua News Agency August 21, 2006)