Athletics: Young sprinters shine in Canada

Young New Zealand sprinters Graeme Read and Kendal Blair were again to the fore on the penultimate day of the world youth track and field championships in Sherbrooke, Canada, yesterday.

Read had a busy day, qualifying seventh fastest for the 200m semifinals in a personal best of 21.7s.

He was not as sharp in the 100m, running 11.21s in his semifinal to leave him 19th overall.

Sam Wilson backed up in the 200m after the 400m, and was seventh in his heat.

Read and Wilson combined with Philip Ah Lo and Jordan Vandermade to produce a top result in the medley relay.

They clocked 1m 56.58s to qualify for the final.

Blair just missed the women's 200m final, running 24.57s to place 14th overall.

She later combined with Leah Salisbury, Amy MacKay and Charlotte Osborne in the women's medley relay, but they missed the final and were placed 10th overall with their time of 2m 15.05s.

Auckland's Junior Maninoa had three consistent throws in the 52m range in the discus, but he could not quite match his recent best in the tough conditions prevailing in the stadium.

His best throw of 52.97m placed him 15th overall.

- NZPA