Claire Stegall Takes Silver With Strong Effort In Women's 1,500 Meters

By Doug Binder, DyeStat Editor

Photos by Keith Webber and Tim Healy

INTERVIEWS

EUGENE -- Claire Stegall made U.S. distance running count in the nation's record medal haul at the World Athletics U20 Championships at Hayward Field. 

Team USA won a record 24 medals, topping the 22 produced by the Soviet Union in 1988. 

"Being an Olympian, being an athlete, it's exciting to see this new generation," U.S. coach Carmelita Jeter said. "It's exciting to see the depth. It's exciting to see a young group of athletes that are preparing for L.A. 28 right now. It's amazing to watch."

Tate Taylor and Mia Maxwell both won a pair of sprint gold medals and Taylor earned a third in the 4x100 relay. Those two had a hand in five of the team's 12 gold medals. 

"The village that they have around them, from the coaches to the parents, everyone's investing love into them and that's what you see the most. You see love, you see confidence. These athletes are going to do amazing on the next stage," Jeter said.

As expected, sprints, hurdles, relays and a few field events were most responsible. But Florida freshman Claire Stegall came within .04 seconds of upsetting the the favored East Africans in a tense women's 1,500 meters on Sunday. 

After the race leaders slowed the first lap to a crawl, and then the tightly packed quarters produced a fall on the second lap, it became a kicker's race. Stegall was able to make the shift in gears and stayed in it right to the end. 

Kenya's Josephine Sembeyo Mancha won the race in 4:16.73, with Stegall straining for the line and finishing in 4:16.77. 

"The final lap we were going slow at first so I knew it was going to pick up the pace a lot. I just wanted to work and do my best for God, this is my last race of the season and my first in an American uniform so I wanted to do my best to represent my country and give it all I got to the line," Stegall said. "Having this on home soil makes it that much more special."

Encouraged by Stegall's battle for th win, Lincoln High (Portland) runner Ellery Lincoln outkicked the chase pack and placed fifth in 4:22.60. 

Kenyans went 1-2 in the men's 1,500. Wilson Chepkwech won the race in 3:37.46 and teammate David Kapaiko Sekento took silver with 3:38.32. 

In the men's 400-meter hurdles, Americans Miller Warme and Keenen Davis finished fourth and seventh, respectively. 

Michael Rada of Czechia upset Japanese favorite Taiju Goto for the victory, 48.59 to 49.13. Warme almost caught a badly fading Matodzi Ndou of South Africa for the bronze. Ndou reached the finish line in 49.90, Warme in 50.06.

In a fast women's 400-meter hurdles final, Romania's Alexandra Stefania beat South Africa's Tumi Ramokgopa with a national record 55.33. Ramokgopa, who doubled in the hurdles and won silver medals in both events, ran a personal best 55.88 and bronze medalist Eleni Iakovaki from Greece ran 55.99. 

Bakr El Asri of Spain pulled into the lead on the final lap and won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase in 8:28.35. 

Kenyans Emmanuel Lemiso Someki and Nicholas Kitum Losiwareng finished second and third, respectively. 

After the U.S. total of 12 gold medals, Kenya was second with four gold medals and 11 total. Italy came away with three golds and five total.

Jamaica and South Africa both earned eight medals apiece.