Nottwil 2017: 24 hours until first Junior Worlds

The first World Para Athletics Junior Championships will get underway on Thursday (3 August), with 275 athletes and 11 guide runners from 41 National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) competing on one of the world's best tracks in Nottwil, Switzerland.

Many of the best Paralympians competed and broke records at this venue, which has hosted the Grand Prix series for four consecutive years, located in the grounds of the Swiss Paraplegics Centre and on the shores of Lake Sempach.

Twenty-nine of the athletes who competed at last month's World Para Athletics Championships London 2017 will be in Nottwil, meaning the level of competition will be high. The Junior Worlds will run until Sunday (6 August) and will consist of two daily sessions, one in the morning and another in the evening.

South Africa's Paralympic silver medallist Ntando Mahlangu will be one of the top names at the Junior Worlds. The 15-year-old, who is still fresh from taking silver at London 2017, aims to claim gold in the men's 100m, 200m, 400m and long jump T42-47 – Youth (U18).

Another experienced athlete set to compete in Nottwil is Chile's T47 sprinter Amanda Cerna, who already competed at one Paralympic Games and two World Championships. “I want to qualify for the final in all my events and then try to win a medal. It would be really nice for me,” she said.

Turkey's Muhsine Gezer took a surprising silver in the women´s 800m T20 at London 2017 and is hoping to extender her great moment at the Junior Worlds.

Other athletes to keep an eye on are Kuwait's Abdulmhsen Alotibi, Ecuador's Damian Carcelen, India's Jayanti Behera, Colombia's Luis Lucumi and Portugal's Ana Filipe.

Live stream will be provided on the International Paralympic Committee's website paralympic.org, World Para Athletics' website and Facebook page, and Nottwil 2017´s website.

More information, including a full list of competitors, can be found on Nottwil 2017’s website.