EUGENE, USA – Jamaica’s Jaheel Hyde flew to victory in 49.29 to take the 400m hurdles after taking command of the race between the seventh and eighth hurdles on Saturday's penultimate day of the 2014 World Junior Championships.
Ali Khamis Khamis of Bahrain overhauled USA’s Tim Holmes after the 10th and last hurdle to take the silver medal in 49.55, a national junior record to lower his own 49.93 set in the semi-finals.
"This was my aim when I started to train in January to come to World Juniors and get the gold. I am happy for the victory," said Hyde.
I felt good when I ran out in the first 200m. That is my strength. If you are not there with me at 200m you can't beat me. My aim was to catch the person in front of me."
Hyde, Khamis and Holmes were the winners of the three semi-final heats and the three fastest juniors in the world coming into the meet, so the race very much went to form.
Hyde now adds world junior gold to the world youth gold he won last year in the 110m hurdles in Donetsk, a unique accolade in taking global titles in the two different hurdles events across the two age groups in successive years.
The winner was tracked hurdle-for-hurdle by Holmes for seven barriers before the US hurdler began to fade. Had Khamis not come through at the end, Holmes would have matched the medal of his cousin and room-mate here in Eugene, Trayvon Bromell.
Jamaica’s Michael O’Hara got clear of the crowded field first, only to be run down by the fast-closing Divine Oduduru of Nigeria. Oduduru took silver in 20.25, with O’Hara bronze in 20.31. The victory went to Trentavis Friday of the USA in 20.04
