Anthony Foster, Gleaner Writer

Bressanone, Italy:

Danielle Dowie sparkled at the 6th IAAF World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy, yesterday when she bagged silver in the 400 metres hurdles.

Jamaica's hopes for a second medal in the event were, however, dashed when Ristananna Tracey fell over the final hurdle. Dowie's silver brought some joy for Jamaica after two disappointing days at the meet. Jamaica's medal tally moves to two after Traves Smikle's discus bronze on Wednesday's opening day.

Dowie went out fast and was clear of her rivals 200 metres out but weakened in the final 100m.

It became a three-athlete race in the straight but as soon as Tracey took a slight lead approaching the final hurdle, she twisted her leg and fell.

Dowie, at this point, had lost the momentum and was passed by Russian Vera Rudakova who recorded a World Youth leading 57.83 seconds for gold. Dowie got across the line in 58.62 while Tracey got up to finish eighth in 62.90.

Mid-race mistakes

Dowie said she lost the race because of mid-race mistakes.

"I had a bad clearance around the corner and it threw off my momentum. I 'high jumped' the hurdle and everything got thrown off.

"In the straight it was very difficult to speed up again," she added.

Asked if she might have gone out too fast, she replied: "I don't think I went out too fast ... it's just the mishap around the corner. I don't feel happy, but it's still a medal and I have to be thankful for that."

Tracey, on the other hand, was "very, very disappointed" as the fall appeared to have robbed her of a medal.

Meanwhile, Jamaica's medley relay teams, boys and girls, along with Janieve Russell, Rochelle Farquharson and Celia Walters, are in finals today.

Jamaica's girls - Deandre Whitehorne, Walters, Russell and Chantal Duncan - finished second in 2:10.72, behind Bahamas (2:10.12) in the medley relay.

United States won heat two in a world leading 2:07.51, but Russell promised "to battle with the Americans right to the line" in the final.

In the boys' medley relay, the quartet of Kemar Bailey-Cole, Wayne Hyman, A-Shawni Mitchelle and Javere Bell stopped the clock in 1:53.89 for the day's second-fastest time behind USA (1:53.58).

Russell is also in the girls' long jump final, along with Farquharson.

Farquharson had a personal best leap of 6.01m, beating her previous mark of 6.00m. She enters the final with the seventh-best jump.

Russell, in Group B, secured her place in the final with a 5.96m leap which got her in as one of the best non-automatic qualifiers.

Again, Russell has high hopes for the final. "I am going into the final with one aim, to improve on my distance and get a medal."

Walters, who left it late to edge Great Britain's Shauna Anderson on the line, is the lone qualifier for the girls' 200m final. She ran 24.05, the same time as Anderson, but was awarded with the automatic qualifying spot behind American Briana Nelson (23.78) in semi-final one.

Final day

Siedatha Palmer, who never looked a serious challenger, failed to make the cut for the final, running 25.17 for seventh in semi-final two.

Bailey-Cole, like Palmer, will have to watch the final from the stands, as he was sent packing with a below-par 22.11 for eighth in semi-final three. The meet ends today.