Shaun Miller Jr. turned in a career-best performance in the boys high jump event over the weekend to close out Team Bahamas' performance at the 10th and final International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Under-18 (U18) Championships. The global meet concluded on Sunday at the Moi International Sports Centre in Nairobi, Kenya.
On Saturday afternoon, Miller finished fifth overall with a leap of 2.11 meters (m) (6' 11"). Miller was able to get over the height on his third attempt. He also tried for 2.14m (7' 0-1/4"), but was unable to clear that height. Miller came into the meet with a personal best jump of 2.06m (6' 9").
Breyton Poole, from the Republic of South Africa, took the gold medal in the event, clearing an under-18 world-leading height of 2.24m (7' 4-1/4"). Poole also attempted 2.27m (7' 5-1/4") but hit the bar down on all three attempts.
Chima Ihenetu, from Germany, took silver in the event, clearing a personal best height of 2.14m, and Vladyslav Lavsky, from the Ukraine, was third. Lavsky also topped out at 2.11m, but he cleared it on his first attempt. Fourth place finisher, Piotr Sztandur, of Poland, also finished with a best height of 2.11m, but finished ahead of Miller based on number of knockdowns.
The top six finishers in the boys high jump cleared personal best heights at the competition.
Team Bahamas finished in a four-way tie for 23rd overall with 13 total points. Along with Miller, several athletes turned in personal best performances in their events.
Doneisha Anderson clocked a personal best of 53.59 in the final of the girls 400m. Her 54.37 seconds time in the semis was the fastest time of the semi-final round.
In the opening heats of the boys 110m hurdles, Denvaughn Whymns posted a personal best time of 13.56 seconds, finishing second in the race. Sprinter Joel Johnson also logged a personal best, running 10.68 seconds in the semi-final round of the boys 100m dash.
Germany finished first in total points at the meet with 131. They had three gold medals, five silver and five bronze. Host country Kenya was second with 124 total points. They captured four gold, seven silver and four bronze. The People's Republic of China rounded out the top three with 116 points, collecting five gold, two silver and four bronze.
Most of the athletes who competed in Kenya will have a short turnaround, as a lot of them will compete this week in New Providence in the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games (CYG). The athletics portion of the games begins on Thursday at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

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