Colantonio Qualifies for Finals at World Youth Championships

National leader Bobby Colantonio (Barrington, RI) is the only American at the World Youth Championships and moved through to the finals today. All 23 competitors from around the globe started off the competition on Thursday in a three throw qualifying round with the international 5-kilgoram (11-pound) hammer. The top 12 throwers move on to Friday’s final where the competition will begin anew.

Colantonio started the competition with a throw of 70.69 before improving to 72.69 meters in the second round. That moved him up to ninth and also, more importantly, was beyond the automatic qualification mark for the finals. The final qualifier was Mark Okun of Germany with a throw of 69.03 meters. Complete results are available from on the IAAF webpage.

The top qualifier was Hlib Piskunov of Ukraine, the winner of last year’s Youth Olympic Games. The first three qualifiers all broke 77 meters, a mark which Colantonio also surpassed earlier this season.

Had an amazing day at the stadium looking around, feeling the track, taking pictures, and making new friends! Circle feels great, amazing venue, I can't wait to compete on the 17th with the best in the world. Practices have been feeling better and better! #TeamUSA #colombia #WYC15 #cali #hammerthrower #hammerthrow #usatf #wyccali2015

A photo posted by Bobby Colantonio Jr (@bobbycolantonio_jr) on Jul 14, 2015 at 3:14pm PDT