Opening day of the global junior event in Kenya sees titles snapped up by athletes from Nigeria, South Africa and Ethiopia

As the World Under-20 Championships belatedly began on Wednesday (Aug 18) in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, it was fitting that the early battles for gold were won by athletes from the African continent.

Victory in the inaugural mixed 4x400m relay went to Nigeria as their quartet clocked 3:19.70 to beat Poland (3:19.80) and India (3:20.60).

The Nigerian team of Johnson Nnamani, Imaobong Nse Uko, Opeyemi Oke and Bamidele Ajayi proved too strong as Ajayi out-kicked Poland’s Patryk Grzegorzewicz on the anchor leg.

The championships were due to start on Tuesday but began one day later than planned due to organisational problems linked to the pandemic. These included Seiko timing equipment being stuck in customs for several days before the meeting.

Tadese Worku of Ethiopia enjoyed a runaway win in the men’s 3000m as he clocked 7:42.09. Worku broke away with team-mate Ali Abdilmana and then strode away from Abdilmana in the closing stages to win by two seconds as Eritrea’s Habtom Samuel took bronze a further eight seconds back.

In the women’s pole vault Mire Reinstorf of South Africa cleared an African junior record of 4.15m to beat Elise Russis of France on countback. Canadian Heather Abadie took bronze with 4.05m.

Reinstorf, 19, said: “It’s my first international competition and I’m so grateful it turned out this way. I honestly didn’t think that I was going to get a medal. It has been a really amazing experience.”

It didn’t all go the way of African athletes, though. In the heptathlon, Saga Vanninen of Finland led at  the end of the first day with 3638 points after 13.60 for the 100m hurdles, 1.78m for the high jump, 13.30m for the shot and 24.83 in the 200m.

Sophie Kreiner of Austria is 202 points behind Vanninen going into the second day.

There are no Britons at the championships after British Athletics chose to focus on last month’s European Under-20 Championships in Tallinn.