Vernicha
James defeats Jamaican favourite for Great Britain’s first gold
David Martin (PA) for
the IAAF
19 July 2002 - Great Britain's first gold medal in the World Junior Championships went to Vernicha James - and in the country where her mother once lived she did it in spectacular style.
Eyeballs out, James had to call on every ounce of injury when sneaking past Jamaica's Anneisha McLaughlin with her last stride in the blue riband 200 metres race which she won by a mere 1/100sec in 22.93sec.
James wasn't only taking on McLaughlin. The 18-year-old Londoner was also tackling a totally partisan 20,000 plus ecstatic Jamaican crowd who, without shame, urged on their own starlet holding a lead of well over a metre coming off the final bend.
Coming into the home straight it looked that after a poor start, her best shot might see James take the silver medal. That was how it looked until last year's European champion went into overdrive.
Last night the action was different. In her preliminary rounds, James had been the dominant figure winning by huge distances on both occasions. Now with the coveted gold medal at stake, the opposition was fighting back.
Her poor reaction out of the blocks didn't help James. But from the same training regime that looks after the interests of British Number One 100m man Dwain Chambers, there was no panic in her head as she realised what she had to do.
Insisting strength has always been her biggest attribute, inch by inch she clawed towards McLaughlin with 400m silver medallist Sanya Richards of the United States who was to finish third in 23.09sec, well out of contention.
It still looked as if her rival would take the tape first - and even after pushing her torso ahead of McLaughlin almost on the finishing line, there wasn't a Jamaican in the crowd who believed James, fifth at the last Championships two years had stolen the glittering gold medal.
But the photo-finish told no lies and James who last year was also the fastest senior British 200m runner, finished in the same personal best time which gained her the European title 12 months ago.
"I was so nervous I didn't get out well, but I always come strong in the home straight. But that was a bit close," admitted James. "I knew I could have run better and I'm not happy with the time."
But on reflection she knew she had beaten world class opposition, particularly McLaughlin the Caribbean champion "She's a good athlete but so am I too."
James failed to allow the crowd to distract her. She said: "I could hear them booing but there was no way I was going to let them put me off. I came here to achieve a target and I've done that."
Knowing there was a sizeable gap on the run-in, James said: "I just started to relax and work hard. I was more worried how she would react. But I always come back strongly in the later stages."
Barely was the women's race over when Jamaica finally got the gold medal they had been craving for since the Championships started last Tuesday. Again it was a corker - and when Usain Bolt crossed the line there was complete bedlam.
The youngster responsible for the pandemonium was Usain Bolt. Still only 15, the aptly named "ThunderBolt" had in his heats proven he is an exciting talent ready to be released upon the sprinting world.
Never headed, the Carribean Youth champion this year who set a personal best in his heats, raised the decibels in the National Stadium to an almost unbearable level with his 20.61sec ahead of a well beaten Antigua's Brendan Christian (20.74sec) and the USA's Wes Felix who ran a personal best 20.82sec.
Normally a world junior record would be the major attraction of any Championships. But both 200m sprints overshadowed the outstanding performance of Lashinda Demus winner of the 400m hurdles gold medal in 54.70sec.
That struck a healthy 0.15sec off the time the American ran at the end of May. It gave Demus a huge win ahead of the Jamaican pair of Melanie Walker and Camille Robinson who finished in 56.03sec and the latter a personal best 56.14sec.
Winner of the men's 400m hurdles in a championship record 48.89sec, was Louis Van Zyl of South Africa. The silver and bronze medals went to American's Ken Ferguson and Bershawn Jackson who clocked 49.38sec and 50.00sec. Then came Green in 51.14sec.
Last summer's African junior silver medallist Janeth Jepkosgei held off Lucia Klocova in a sprint for the line to win the 800m in a personal best and world leading time for the season of 2:00.80.
Although the Slovak tried clawing the winner back in the home straight, Klocova lost the gold medal by almost a second in a time of 2:01.73. Third was Brazil's Juliana Paula de Azevedo clocking 2:03.81.
A first lap of 50.95sec was only the first talking point of the men's race. Back in the pack after leading until tripping on the kerb coming into the home straight for the first time, was Alex Kipchirchir who had looked impressive in the first two rounds.
Over the last 100 metres on the final circuit Ali Adam was forcing the pace along. But in the final thirty metres, Kenya's Kipchirchir, Salem Al-Badri of Qatar, Luxembourg's David Fiegen all came broadside of the Qatar runner.
With only 0.27sec seperating the quartet, Kipchirchir gained the verdict in 1:46.59. Runner-up was Al-Badri (1:46.63) with the bronze medal gained by Fiegen in 1:46.66.
Romania's Adina Anton captured the long jump title with a personal best in the fourth round of 6.46m. The silver and bronze medals went to China's Lina Wang (6.36m) and Esther Aghatise from Nigeria who cleared 6.34m.
A personal best throw of 58.95m won Ma Xuejun the discus title ahead of Chinese team mate Xu Shaoyang whose best was 57.87m. Seema Antil from India captured the bronze medal throwing 55.83m.
