Jonathan Farinha finished fifth in the men’s 200 metres final at the World Youth (under-18) Track and Field Championships, in Donetsk, Ukraine, yesterday. The Trinidad and Tobago sprinter got to the line in 21 seconds flat.
Jamaica’s Michael O’Hara clocked 20.63 to strike gold, forcing Brazilian Vitor Hugo dos Santos to settle for silver in 20.67.
Cuba’s Reynier Mena bagged bronze in 20.79 seconds, getting home ahead of Great Britain’s Thomas Somers (20.84), Farinha and Nigerian Ejowvokoghene Divine Oduduru (21.37). Chinese sprinters, Youxue Mo (21.42) and Zhe Li (21.54) finished seventh and eighth, respectively.
Farinha’s fifth-place finish was the best performance by a T&T athlete at the 2013 edition of the Championships. His teammates, Kayelle Clarke and Jeminise Parris were semifinalists.
On Saturday, Clarke was fourth in her semifinal heat and 14th overall in the women’s 200m in 24.54 seconds. And on Thursday, Parris clocked 13.89 seconds--a new personal best—for sixth spot in her women’s 100m hurdles semifinal heat and 16th spot overall.
Jamaica topped the medal table in Donetsk, capturing six gold medals and two bronze medals. Jamaica earned gold number six in the final event at the Championships, the men’s medley relay. Waseem Williams, O’Hara, Okeen Williams and Martin Manley combined for a one minute, 49.23 seconds clocking--a new world youth record.
Kenya finished second with four gold medals, three silver and four bronze, while third spot went to Ethiopia—three gold medals, three silver, two bronze.