Rush-Henrietta junior Sammy Watson captured the World U20 800m Title last night, in Bydgoszcz, Poland. MileSplit NY recently named Sammy Watson's 800m qualifying mark at USA Junior Champs as the #2 Moment of the 2016 season, largely in part to the undefeated nature of her schedule. Watson added another win to her belt, making her the first athlete since Ajee' Wilson to win the World U18 and World U20 Championships in consecutive years at 800m. Wilson went on to represent Team USA, with a spot on the squad for Rio 2016.
As is typical for championship racing, the pace was slow through the first 400m. For those who have never raced against Watson, this would play right into her hands. With 200m to go, Watson would kick away from the field with unparalleled speed, and cross the line 10m ahead of the field. Watson's winning time was 2:04.52 was well behind her season's best of 2:02.93, yet was still a full second ahead of second place, taken by Aaliyah Miller of Texas. The performance marked only the third ever 1-2 sweep in the event for a single country.
Hear Watson's reaction to the race below.