Nottwil 2017: London 2017 medallists win junior world titles

"I had been having good results so I knew I was a candidate, but still was not going to be easy"

Recently crowned World Championships medallists Damian Carcelen and Ntando Mahlangu carried over their success into the Nottwil 2017 World Para Athletics Junior Championships, each winning gold on the opening day (3 August) of competition in Switzerland.

In a highly-competitive men´s 200m T42-47 Youth (U18) race, South Africa’s 15-year-old Mahlangu clocked 23.73 to finish first. He adds to his resume after winning silver in the same event at both the Rio 2016 Paralympics and July’s World Para Athletics Championships London 2017.

“The race went well, the track is nice. It was a strong race, so I am really satisfied,” said Mahlangu. Italy´s London 2017 silver medallist Riccardo Bagaini (23.89) and Germany´s Phil Grolla (24.08) completed the top-three.

Another Worlds medallist who won the junior world title was Ecuador´s Carcelen (6.33) in the men´s long jump T20 Junior (U20). He was followed by Hong Kong´s Nikki Tang (6.19) and Carcelen´s compatriot Anderson Colorado Mina (6.17).

It was a successful day for Latin American athletes as Colombia´s Luis Lucumi and Chile´s Amanda Cerna also claimed victories in their respective events.

Rio 2016 silver medallist Lucumi won the men´s shot put F35-38 Junior (U20) thanks to a 11.59 throw, finishing ahead of Mexico´s Rodrigo de la Torre Huerta (9.68) and Iran´s Ashkan Cheraghi (8.65).

At the same time, Cerna took gold in the women´s 200m T42-47 Junior (U20) with a time of 27.72.

“I am so happy and excited. I had been having good results so I knew I was a candidate, but still was not going to be easy. I still have to run the 100m and 400m and want to go for everything,” Cerna said.

India´s Jayanti Behera (28.04), a finalist at London 2017, came in second; while USA´s Jessica Heims (29.89) was third.

The USA celebrated in the women´s 400m T51-54 Youth (U18) through Hannah Dederick (1:00.67). Argentina´s Lucia Montenegro (1:02.37) took silver and Dederick´s compatriot Elizabeth Floch (1:04.63) claimed bronze.

Full results can be found on Nottwil 2017´s website.

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.