By a World-Track contributor BRESSANONE — Newly crowned World Youth champion Kirani James said he was hoping to break the 45 seconds barrier when winning the 400-metres in Bressanone, Italy on Friday. James easily won the one lap title with a new Championship record of 45.24seconds in a dominant performance. But despite being happy with the victory, the Grenadian was a little disappointed with... 

By Anthony Foster, World-Track Bressanone/Brixen – American Youth star Joshua Mance, a medallist at the IAAF World Youth Championships, says he gave up playing basketball earlier this season for the new love he found in track and field. Mance, who ran a personal best of 46.22seconds to finish second to Grenada’s Kirani James in boys 400m, said he admires fellow American quarter-miler ... 

Bressanone/Brixen, Italy – The IAAF World Youth Championships have nurtured many of today’s contemporary athletics stars. Some, like Usain Bolt, went home with a gold medal hung around their necks, but certainly not all of them were stars of the show on their first appearance at a global championship. Nevertheless, competing at the Championships was a formative experience for the likes... 

Bressanone/Brixen, Italy – New Canadian 100m youth record holder Aaron Brown says he is very determine to put his country’s sprint back on the map. Since Donovan Bailey, the 1996 Olympics 100m champion, at 9.84, and Bruny Surin, who also has a personal best of 9.84, in the 90s, Canada has not produced any world class sprinters. However, Brown, who like Bailey and Surin, has roots in the... 

Bressanone/Brixen, Italy – American sprinter Ashton Purvis is out to redeem herself after a disappointing 2007 World Youth Championships in Ostrava. In Ostrava, Purvis ran 12.04 for seventh in the 100m final. She had times on 11.74 in the heats, 12.09 in the quarterfinals and 11.81 in the semi-finals, but said that disappointment makes her more determined to change this time around. “It’s... 

The 6th IAAF World Youth Championships started on a high note courtesy of Norway’s Isabelle Pedersen who won heat 2 of the girl’s 100m Hurdles in a new World Youth leading time of 13.35, an improvement over her personal best by more than two tenths of a second. Pedersen was a clear winner as Samantha Elliott of Jamaica and Rikenette Steenkamp of South Africa took the next automatic qualifiers...