News

Akimenko jumps his way to world gold

Home
  • News
  • Akimenko jumps his way to world gold

Russia has a new high jump star after Mikhail Akimenko proved the best in a tough competition to win gold at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Eugene on Friday night.

Akimenko, 18, took his outdoor personal best from 2.21m to 2.24m to triumph on countback in an event where Europe took silver with Belarusian Dzimitry Nabokau ahead of Korea’s Woo Sanghyeok and Jamaica’s Christoff Bryan, who were third and fourth respectively with the same height.

Now Russia have the Olympic champion in Ivan Ukhov and a potential senior gold medallist of the future in Akimenko who was third at the European Junior Championships in Rieti last year.

It is the first time a Russian has won this event at the World Junior Championships and was another level in the progress of Akimenko who had cleared his previous best of 2.21m only in June in Moscow.

Earlier in the year he had achieved 2.24m indoors in Volgograd but by doing it outdoors at Hayward Field he has landed the biggest prize of his career.

'I am really happy…I can’t ask for more, I don’t even know how I am going to celebrate my medal, it hasn’t dawned on me yet,” said Akimenko speaking to the IAAF.

Beforehand, Belarusian Andrei Skabeika, the silver medallist from Rieti, looked the one to beat with a personal best of 2.26m from this year but it was not his day as he exited on 2.10m after failing three times at 2.14m.

It was Akimenko’s immaculate progress towards 2.24m which brought him gold as he had first time clearances at 2.05m, 2.10m, 2.14m, 2.17m, 2.20m and 2.22m. He fouled his first go at 2.24m but went over the second time - just as Nabokau did - but the Belarusian had had fouls at 2.10m and 2.22m.

The top four all achieved personal bests to show the standard of the competition at a championships which ends on Sunday.

At 17, Sweden’s Irene Ekelund is one of Europe’s leading sprinters as she proved last year when she won the 200m at the World Youth Championships in Donetsk and now she has a World Junior silver to go with it.

Having finished sixth in the 100m final, Ekelund came storming around the bend but American Kaylin Whitney had just too much for her as she triumphed in 22.82 with the Swedish runner second in 22.97 and Ecuador’s Angela Tenorio third in 23.15.

Europe also made the podium in the men’s hammer with Hungary’s Bence Pasztor, 19, taking silver, just as he did last year in Rieti. He had a best of 79.99m with Russia’s Ilya Terentyev, 19, in bronze with 76.31m as Ashraf Amgad Elseify, of Qatar, won with 84.71m.

It was always a going to be a tough ask to overtake Elseify who had six throws in the 80s with this 6kg hammer but Pasztor reached 79.14m in the second round and then had his best effort in the last round with Ternentyev’s furthest distance coming in that second round.

The women’s shot put brought more medal glory for Türkiye’s European Junior champion Emel Dereli, 18.

She won bronze with a second round effort of 16.55m as China’s Tianqian Guo won with 17.71m and Raven Saunders, of the USA, was second with 16.63m.




Official Partners
Official Partners
Official Partners
Official Partners
Official Partners
Official Partners
Broadcast Partner
Broadcast Partner
Preferred Suppliers
Supporting Hotel
Photography Agency