On Monday, USA Track and Field (USATF) announced that they will not send a team to this year’s U20 World Championships in Lima, Peru, at the end of August, due to safety concerns.
The governing body for athletics in the U.S. cited safety, the late-summer date of the event, and concerns around competitive readiness as the reasons why they will not be sending a team.
BREAKING NEWS: @usatf has announced that it will not send a team to the 2024 World U20 Championships in Peru this August.
The reasons cited for not taking a team to Peru this summer include “safety,” the “event date” and “competitive readiness,” according to a USATF release. pic.twitter.com/Brf6E4LRtr
— MileSplit US (@milesplit) April 8, 2024
“After careful consideration concerning both the domestic and international athletics calendar, consultation among the internal team, advice of security consultants, and relevant government authorities, it has been decided that USA Track & Field will not be sending a Team to the 2024 World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Peru,” USATF said in a press release. “We understand that this decision may be disappointing for those who were looking forward to participating, but we have the responsibility to prioritize the safety and security of all involved.”
At the previous U20 World Championships in Cali, Colombia, in 2022, Team USA finished at the top of the medal table with 15 medals (seven of them gold).
The U20 World Championships (formerly World Junior Championships) are a major stepping stone for many of the sport’s future stars. World champions such as Norway’s Jakob Ingebrigtsen, Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet and Canadian hammer thrower Camryn Rogers all won medals at the U20 level before rising to superstardom as pros.
Last year, The U.S. Government issued a Level 2 travel warning on Peru, meaning “Exercise increased caution,” due to the ongoing crime and civil unrest in certain regions.
This is not the first time USATF has decided not to send a team to the U20 World Championships. It’s the second time in the last three editions of the U20 World Championships that USATF will not send a team. They also didn’t send a team to the 2021 championships in Nairobi, Kenya, citing similar reasons.
USATF is scheduled to host the next edition of the U20 World Championships in Eugene, Ore., in 2026.
