World U20s – Day 3: Hill 9th in the world as Halleen, Williams, McGroder and Louison-Roe qualify for finals

 8 August 2026

World U20s – Day 3: Hill 9th in the world as Halleen, Williams, McGroder and Louison-Roe qualify for finals 

On day three of the World Athletics U20 Championships being held at the famous Hayward Field in Eugene Alice Hill continued her remarkable run with another PB to place ninth in the 400m final. Four NSW athletes made finals, Harry Halleen and Dan Williams in the 800m and jumpers Mason McGroder and Izzy Louison-Roe. There were PBs from hurdlers Tammin Lampret and Ollie Facer and a special performance by Ivy Boothroyd in the 800m semis.

400M women
Running her third 400m in 35 hours, Newcastle year 11 student Alice Hill closed her individual campaign with a magnificent 9th place in the women’s 400m final, clocking her second 400m PB time of 53.16. Running from lane nine she was swamped early, but holding her form, they didn’t run away from her. Following her usual race pattern, she steamed home full of running, to nearly grab 8th place. 

She was the youngest in the field by eight months and was racing four 19-year-olds. She is age-eligible for the 2028 World U20 Championships.
As we reflected yesterday, Alice is the ninth Australian to make this final and she is following in the footsteps of seven Olympians and one Commonwealth Games gold medallist.

800M 
A perfect tactical race by Sutherland’s Ivy Boothroyd saw her come very close to qualifying for the 800m final. At the end of the second lap Ivy had positioned herself wide and clear of the bunched field. Suddenly the lead position on the rails opened up and Ivy grabbed it piloting the field for the next 100m. Coming into the straight she was still leading and looking strong, but over the last 30m slightly faded with three passing her as she would finish in a non-qualifying 4th in a time of 2:04.57.

Daniel Williams was very much in control in his 800m semi, letting the Kenyan, Collins Tayewou, sprint away for the win. Dan clocked a very comfortable 1:48.29.

He was laidback after his semifinal, knowing it was just a matter of getting the job done.
"Advancing in each race is the main objective, I don't want to get my head caught up in worrying about the finals. Everyone is at the top of their game. You never know who can come out of the dark and win. This event has been an incredible experience. This track and stadium is different than anything we have in Australia. It’s a world class experience and possibly the best in the world. Training camp in Santa Barbara was instrumental. Everyone supports everyone."

Harry Halleen was the surprise of the day. In a crazy fast race early, Harry ran controlled and gradually picked off the field on the second lap. Running up the home straight he was in a three-way battle for 3rd and the final automatic qualifying position. It looked like the Brit, Matthew McKenna would pass him, but Harry lifted and ran away from his competition to secure 3rd place in a PB time of 1:48.17.

In the last 18 years we have only had one male make the 800m final, now we have two.  Harry and Daniel are now just the seventh and eight Aussies to make the men’s 800m final. With two in the top-8, it is the first time Australia have achieved this in a men’s distance event.

100M/110M HURDLES
Terrific performances today by out two hurdlers. In the morning heat, Sutherland’s Tammin Lampret smashed her PB of 13.71, with a time of 13.55, to place 4th in her heat. In the evening session Tammin backed it up with another time under her old PB, clocking 13.68.
In the men’s 110m hurdles, Bankstown’s Ollie Facer matched Tammin with a PB of 13.65 in his heat. He destroyed his pre-championships best of 13.82. In the evening semifinal, he placed 7th in his heat in a wind assisted time of 13.50w. The illegal wind was just 2.7m/s, so statistically it was superior to his new best of 13.65 in the heats. 

LONG JUMP men
2024 World U20 bronze medallists, Mason McGroder looked very impressive in the qualifying rounds, jumping 7.67m, ahead of an auto qualifier and PB of 7.83m on his second effort. His jump made him the fourth longest Aussie at the World Juniors. In the qualifying round, the top-4 set PBs, including an American Quincy Isaac (7.91m) and Italian Daniele Inzoli (8.15m). The two pre-championship eight metre jumpers from India, also progress.

Mason McGroder sounds ready for whatever the final dished up.
"Yeah it was great the first jump was a bit shaggy but I was nice and relaxed on my second jump and got 7.83, that feels great. You get a bit nervous sitting and watching everyone else do so great but the culture on the team has been amazing everyone is rallying together and supporting each other. Going into camp my abductor did not feel great but I managed my way through that and it was great to deliver an automatic Q today. Anything can happen in the final I learned two years ago in Lima so I am excited."

Hills athlete Luke Vrataric, who was injured during summer, leapt 6.92w on his first attempt, but did not take his final two jumps.

HIGH JUMP women
Silver medallist and number one seed, Izzy Louison-Roe smoothly progressed into the high jump final. The automatic standard for qualification was 1.84m, but when there were only 13 athletes over 1.79m, it was decided all would progress. For Izzy, she opened at 1.76m and required just two first attempt clearances to progress.

Lizzy is sounding very comfortable both from her 2024 experience and the pre-championships camp.
"I felt great today. Having competed in Lima (2024) certainly helped me prepared for this event. We had a training camp in Santa Barbara, and it helped me adjust to the weather here. There is a great spirit on the Australian team. We support each other and we want to continue to add more success this week."

200M men
After initially placing 4th in his 200m heat, Dyan Hall was elevated to a qualifying position of 3rd after the disqualification of Jamaican Gary Card. But when Gary was reinstated, Dylan was relegated to 4th. Dylan had run a PB of 21.12. 
But then there another change and Dylan was added to the 200m semis where he placed 9th in a time of 21.29.

David Tarbotton for Athletics NSW
Image:  Alice Hill (Ben Levy/Australian Athletics)