The United States has won the last four World Youth Team championships (for athletes under 18-years of age), and the prospects of winning a fifth championship in Italy in 2009 just got better with a change in the method of selecting the U.S. team.
In the past it was necessary to compete in one of three national USA Track and Field championships – the Junior championships, the Youth championships and/or the Junior Olympic championships – one complete year before the World Youth championships were held. Only athletes who had competed in those meets were eligible to be named to the team. There was no selection meet. As a result, athletes who had missed the three meets due to injury were not eligible, as well as any athletes who improved greatly in the year of a given World Youth Championships but had not attended one of the three meets the previous year. For example, in 2007 two U.S. athletes, the World Youth record holder in the boys’ 100 meters (Rynell Parson TX) and the second-ranked boys pole vaulter in the world in 2007 (Corey Shank IN), were not eligible for the team.
All of that will change for the U.S. team in 2009, as a qualifying meet well be held in very early July next year. In order to compete, you only need to have been born in 1992 or 1993, be a citizen of the U.S. at the time of the competition, and have met a qualifying standard. The exact qualifying standards have not been established, but will be determined later this year.
The top two athletes in the qualifying meet well be eligible to be named to the team, provided they have met the qualifying standards for the World Youth Championships. Those standards will be set late in 2008.
One other very important change was that the birth years that qualify for the championships have been reduced from three to two. In 2007, athletes born in 1990, 1991 and 1992 were eligible, but in 2009 only athletes born in 1992 and 1993 are eligible.
LEADING UNITED STATES CANDIDATES FOR THE 2009 WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS
Girls
300-METER LOW HURDLES
42.76 ** Kori Carter (Claremont, Ca.) 6-3-92
44.27 ** Katie Nelms (LSI Sprint, San Jose, Ca.) 9-25-92
44.32 ** Sarah Omotayo (Mundy’s Mill, Jonesboro, Ga.) 1-1-92
44.57 ** Taylor Butler (Bishop McNamara, Forestville, Md.) 2-12-92
44.80 ** Amber Smith (Collinwood, Cleveland, Oh.) 4-24-92
400-METER LOW HURDLES
58.73 * Angelica Weaver (Rancho Cucamonga, Ca.) 6-11-92
61.63 ** Amber Allen (Passaic Tech, Wayne, N.J.) 10-15-92
61.94 ** Miata Morlu (Providence Day,, Charlotte, N.C.) 6-10-92
62.21 ** Kori Carter (Claremont, Ca.) 6-3-92
63.39 ** Katie Nelms (LSI Sprint, San Jose, Ca.) 9-25-92
64.12 ** Sarah Omotayo (Mundy’s Mill, Jonesboro, Ga.) 1-1-92
64.70 ** Shanay Briscoe (Cypress Christian, Houston, Tx.) 7-8-92
