Fotak Far from Personal Best, Jezernik Eliminated in 400m Semifinals
Croatian long jumper Nevia Fotak finished 11th in the World Junior Championships final, while Dominik Jezernik reached the 400m semifinals but failed to make the final.
Croatian long jumper Nevia Fotak finished 11th in the World Junior Championships final, while Dominik Jezernik reached the 400m semifinals but failed to make the final.
On the second day of the World Athletics U20 Championships in Eugene, USA, Croatian representatives failed to reach the medal contention. The closest was long jumper Nevia Fotak, who competed in the final but finished 11th with a jump of 5.84 meters at the iconic Hayward Field.
The athlete from Varaždin's Sloboda club jumped 6.09 meters in the qualifying round, but in the final she couldn't replicate that distance, let alone approach her personal best of 6.25 meters set a month and a half ago at the Croatian Junior Championships. She opened the competition with a jump of 5.59 meters, fouled on her second attempt, and then jumped 5.84 meters in the third round, which wasn't enough to advance among the top eight.
The world champion was Djelika Diarra with a jump of 6.52 meters. Silver went to Greece's Evelyn Mitropoulou (6.44), while Soudatou Niang took bronze (6.34).
Dominik Jezernik promised great things in the 400m qualifying rounds. With a new personal best of 46.28 seconds, he was first in his heat and eighth overall in qualifying, earning a direct spot in the semifinals. However, in the semifinal race, he ran nearly a second slower (47.22) and finished last, eighth in his heat, which placed him 21st overall. To make the final, he needed to run under 46 seconds.
In the same event, Frane Delonga finished 44th in qualifying with a time of 47.95 and did not advance to the semifinals.
In the morning session (US time), three more Croatian athletes competed. Shot putter Zara Veltruski threw 14.18 meters in her third attempt, which earned her 28th place and no spot in the final.
Tina Polić ran a personal best of 59.89 seconds in the 400m hurdles, breaking the minute barrier for the first time in her career, but that was only good for 28th place in qualifying, without advancing to the semifinals. Lovro Šourek also failed to progress - his time of 53.04 seconds placed him 45th in the men's 400m hurdles.
