Nations participating 173 Events 40 | Athletes participating 1375 Dates 6–10 July | |
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Host city Lille Métropole, France Main venue Stadium Lille-Métropole | ||
The 2011 World Youth Championships in Athletics were the seventh edition of the World Youth Championships in Athletics. They were held in Lille Métropole, France, with stadium-based events at Stadium Lille-Métropole in Villeneuve d'Ascq, on 6–10 July 2011. Eligible athletes were aged 16 or 17 on 31 December 2011 (born in 1994 or 1995). The event had record participation levels, with 1375 athletes (757 boys/618 girls) from 173 countries entering the tournament.
Over the five-day competition, forty track and field events were contested (20 for boys and 20 for girls). A total of five world youth best marks were set in Lille. New Zealand's Jacko Gill won the shot put by four metres, improving his own youth best to 24.35 m. Jake Stein collected a record 6491 points in the octathlon, while Leonard Kirwa Kosencha of Kenya ran a world youth best of 1:44.08 minutes for the 800 metres. The United States boys and Jamaican girls ran record times to win their respective medley relay events. Four further championship records were also broken at the competition.
The United States topped the medals table (six golds and 16 in total), closely followed by Kenya, which took five golds and 14 altogether from the middle- and long-distance races. Jamaica came third, winning most of its medals in the sprints and jumps, although Fedrick Dacres made history by taking the country's first ever gold in the discus throw. The same top-three order occurred in the points table, which took into account placings in the top eight of each event.