Alina Kenzel in the shot put at the IAAF World Junior Championships Oregon 2014 (© Getty Images)
Two years ago in Eugene, Alina Kenzel missed the shot put final by one place. Fast forward two years and the German is now the gold medal favourite for Bydgoszcz.
She owns four of the top seven U20 marks in the world this year, her best being her 17.48m heave when winning at the Bauhaus Junior Gala in Mannheim last month.
Kenzel’s one blip this season came at the Werfertage meeting in Halle, where she finished third in the U20 shot, beaten by two of her compatriots. But she rebounded the next day to win the U23 contest with 16.89m.
Sarah Schmidt, who beat Kenzel in Halle, will also be in Bydgoszcz. Although her best of 16.42m makes her the fifth best of all the entrants, she will have gained confidence from her victory in Halle.
USA’s Alyssa Wilson will be one of the youngest in the field, but she is the only other U20 athlete, apart from Kenzel, to have thrown beyond 17 metres this year.
Like Kenzel, Mexico’s Maria Fernanda Orozco competed in Eugene two years ago and missed out on the final. The Youth Olympic silver medallist has since improved to 16.92m, a national U20 record, and will be a medal contender this time round in Bydgoszcz.
Two years on from Guo Tianqian’s victory in Eugene, Song Jiayuan will aim to keep the title in Chinese hands. The 18-year-old appears to be rounding into form at the right time, winning the Chinese U20 title two weeks ago with a lifetime best of 16.31m.
Song’s compatriot Xiarong Chen also has the ability to get close to the medal positions, as do USA’s Elena Bruckner and Japanese U20 record-holder Nanaka Kori.
Jon Mulkeen for the IAAF
