Final day flourish! - Jamaica win three medals to equal best-ever medal haul and place fifth at IAAF World U-20 Champs

BYDGOSZCZ, Poland:

Jamaica's head coach Danny Hawthorne praised the country's athletes for their resilience as they rebounded from a poor start to match their best-ever haul of eight medals at the IAAF World Under-20 Championships (World Junior Championships) and place fifth overall.

The athletes finished the event in Bydgoszcz, Poland, with a flourish on yesterday's final day by winning three more medals - two silver and one bronze.

Rushelle Burton ran a National Junior record to win silver in the women's 100m hurdles, while the respective girls' and boys' 4x400m teams won silver and bronze.

Jamaican had also won eight medals at Santiago, Chile, in 2000.

Overall, the United States topped the medals table with 21 medals (11 gold, seven silver, four bronze) ahead of Kenya on nine (five gold, two silver, two bronze) and third-placed Ethiopia 10 (four gold, two silver, four bronze).

"I must first say thanks to the JAAA for the camp leading up to the Championships as this really played a pivotal role in the overall performance of the team. Also, to the coaching and management staff and to all the athletes, who were very disciplined throughout," said Hawthorne.

MANY MISHAPS

"The team started off with many mishaps on the opening day, but they pulled themselves together for the remaining days and the good results in the end showed," commented Hawthorne, who paid special tribute to the boys' 4x400m relay team for winning a bronze medal.

Burton won silver in the women's 100m hurdles, with the athletes running with the maximum allowable 2.0 metres per second wind.

Going into the final with the fifth-fastest time, 13.21 seconds, Burton produced her third personal best at the meet as she finished a close second in 12.87.

The previous National Junior record, 12.97, was established by Daeshon Gordon last year at the National Junior Championships.

Burton also became the seventh-fastest ever at this level.

Elvira Herman of Belarus won gold in a Championships Record of 12.85 seconds, while Tia Jones of the United States won bronze in 12.89.

"I am extremely happy. I did not expect this as I was very nervous at the start of the race and I told myself that I was going to run as hard as I can and, hopefully, to do a personal best and I was very anxious overnight," said Burton, shedding tears of joy. "But this is amazing and I am extremely happy."

Jamaica, with the fastest time in qualifying and the favourite's tag, won silver in the women's 4x400m through the quartet of 400m gold medallist Tiffany James and bronze-medal winner Junelle Bromfield, plus 400m hurdles silver medallist Shannon Kallawan and Stacy Ann Williams.

The quartet ran a season's best 3:31.02.

The United States won in a season and world leading 3:29.11, as Canada finished third for bronze in 3:32.25.

In the final event, the men's 4x400m, the quartet of Anthony Carpenter, Sean Bailey, Terry Thomas and young Christopher Taylor on anchor finished third in a season's best 3:04.83.

The United States won in a world leading 3:02.39 to make a clean sweep of the relays. Botswana took silver in 3:02.81.