Three Canadian athletes registered new personal best times in event finals in the penultimate day of competition at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, on Saturday.
Ella Clayton was the first competitor to speed to a personal best time, finishing sixth in the women’s 400-metre final with a time of 54.10 seconds. “It felt good. It wasn’t all that I expected, but I’m excited to come back and learn from it and do better next time,” said Clayton. “It has been a super cool experience. I’m so glad I got to be here in Kenya with Team Canada and I’m excited to do it again.”
Michael Roth hustled to sixth place in the men’s 400-metre final, clocking in with a personal best time of 46.10 seconds. ”I really loved it. I loved the competition. Everyone was at their best, so that was fun. My own race didn’t feel the best, but it ended up being great,” said Roth.
Avery Pearson took seventh place in the women’s 800-metre final, fighting to the finish in a personal best time of 2:06.46. “It hasn’t sunk in yet. Just making the final is so exciting. To come away with a personal best, that’s hard to do in a final, so I’m really excited about that,” said Pearson.
Abdullahi Hassan booked his ticket to tomorrow’s men’s 800-metre final, finishing third in his semi-final heat with a time of 1:46.89. “I got out and just tried to stay in a good position and then finish strong. I saw that I was in third, so I didn’t push in the last 50 metres,” said Hassan. “I think I can run well tomorrow and run smart. I just want to stick with the pack and finish hard.”
Aiden Grout competed in the men’s high jump final but failed to register a height in the competition. “I’m super grateful for the opportunity in a really hard year. The competition didn’t go as I would have liked it to, but there isn’t much you can do about that. It just wasn’t my day,” said Grout. “Kenya is an amazing country. I had a great time and the championships were really well planned. I’m just really grateful for the opportunity.”
Follow Team Canada online for tomorrow’s final day of competition. Get the link to the livestream of the event, plus schedules, results, history and more at Athletics Canada’s 2021 World U20 Athletics Championships hub.
