Wimbley, @MiamiTrack Shine at World Juniors

EUGENE, Ore. – Shakima Wimbley led the USA women’s 4x400m relay to the top preliminary time at the 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships.

Wimbley ran the opening leg of the 4x400m relay in 53.09 seconds, giving the Americans a strong start as they combined to post a world junior leading time of 3:32.73. Team USA will be the top seed in Sunday’s 4x400m relay final, scheduled for 7:35 p.m. ET.

While Wimbley was a key member of team USA’s success in the 4x400m relay, she was not the only Hurricane to have success on Saturday.

Gian Piero Ragonesi placed seventh in the men’s discus final with a personal-best throw of 60.47m. On Friday, Ragonesi earned one of the 12 spots in the discus final with a throw of 60.30m.

Miami Track signee Henri Delauze ran the opening leg of the men’s 4x400m relay for the Bahamas, helping his country post a new national junior record time of 3:07.03 that earned the Bahamas a spot in Sunday’s final scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.

The 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships will be streamed live via webcast. It will be the largest IAAF event ever contested on U.S. soil. A total of 177 national federations, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, have expressed their intent to compete at the six-day track and field meet where more than 1,750 athletes under the age of 20 are expected to participate.

The 2014 IAAF World Junior Championships will be held from July 22-27 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The 2014 edition of the IAAF World Junior Championships marks the first time the event has ever been held in the United States.  

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