Edmonton’s Dianna Proctor has torn up the track with not one, not two, but three personal bests (in two days) to earn herself a silver medal at the U20 World Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru. Coming into the competition with a best time of 52.93 seconds, the 400m sprinter took second in the final on Thursday with a flashy new lifetime best of 51.98.
In Wednesday’s 400m heats, the 19-year-old ran the third-fastest overall time, clocking 52.73 to improve her lifetime best by two-tenths of a second to earn an auto-qualifying spot to the semi-final. That new personal best stood for less than seven hours, as she dominantly won her semi-final, crossing the line in 52.59, a tenth of a second ahead of the second runner.
In Thursday’s final, Proctor came blazing down the final stretch, surging from sixth to second in the final 100m to improve her new personal best by more than half a second. Her incredible performance now leaves her ranked 11th in the world for the U20 discipline. (She came into the competition ranked 26th.)
Proctor’s 200m heats also went smoothly on Thursday morning; she clocked 23.70 to place second and advanced to the semi-final alongside Canadian teammate Ashley Odiase, whose 23.94-second run earned her a spot as one of six fastest-time qualifiers. The semis took place Thursday evening, less than two hours before the 400m final; neither of the Canadians advanced.
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John O’Reilly earns a PB and a spot in the 800m final
Toronto’s John O’Reilly also surged to an impressive personal best in Thursday’s 800 semi-final round. The 19-year-old took third in his heat with a time of 1:47.67 to crush his previous best of 1:48.15, and took the first of two fastest-time qualifier spots into the final, which will take place on Friday at 5:35 p.m. ET.
Rachel Forsyth advances to the 1,500m final
Canadian 1,500m star Rachel Forsyth also earned a big Q straight into her event’s final at the U20 championships. The 18-year-old from London, Ont. ran the second-fastest time of the round, clocking 4:20.85. Forsyth’s personal best stands at 4:17.00; she’ll look to improve on that time to secure a spot on the podium in Saturday’s final. The women’s 1,500m final goes on Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
The 2024 World Athletics U20 Championships is being held from Aug. 27 to Aug. 31 in Lima, Peru. This marks the first time a World Athletics event is hosted in Peru, with more than 1,700 athletes from 134 countries competing for medals. Results can be found here. The event is being live-streamed for free on the World Athletics website. You can live stream the event on World Athletics Inside Track. (To watch the live stream on the World Athletics website, you’ll need to register for a free account.)
