BYDGOSZCZ, Poland - Men's 100-metre champion, Dexter Lee, celebrates with the Jamaican flag on the second day of the IAAF World Junior Championships at the Zawisza Stadium yesterday. Lee clocked 10.40 seconds for victory. (Photo: Paul Reid)

BYDGOSZCZ, Poland - World Youth 100m champion, Dexter Lee, created an upset yesterday when he sped to victory in the Men's 100 metres here at the Zawisza Stadium on the second day of the IAAF World Junior Championships.

The strapping 17-year-old, who qualified for the semi-finals via the best losers' route and was second in the second-round race, got off to a brilliant start and left the quality field for dead as he crossed the line in 10.40 seconds, on a cool evening as the entire Jamaican delegation cheered him on.

Lee became only the third male athlete to win both the Youth and Junior titles in consecutive years, joining Great Britain's Mark Lewis Francis in 1999/2000 and Trinidad & Tobago's Darrell Brown in 2001/2002.

Lee, who is eligible to defend his title in Moncton, Canada in 2010, is also the first Jamaican male to win the World Juniors 100m title, following bronze medals by Dwight Thomas in Annecy, France, in 1998, Remaldo Rose in Grosseto, Italy, in 2004, and Yohan Blake in Beijing, China, in 2006.

BYDGOSZCZ, Poland - Jamaican quarter-miler Latoya McDermott looks back at the stadium clock after being eliminated in the semi-finals of the 400m event at the Zawisza Stadium yesterday. (Photo: Paul Reid)

South Africa's Wilhem Van der Vyver was second in 10.42secs and American Terrell Wilks third in 10.45. Lee's teammate and bronze medallist in 2006, Yohan Blake, was a disappointing fourth in 10.51.

Blake, who sat out three months due to injury, set himself up as a favourite for a medal after an easy semi-final victory the previous day.

Lee was the man of the moment, however, and lifted a slight gloom that had settled over the Jamaican team after long jumper Tarik Batchelor failed to make the last eight of his event, and quarter-miler Latoya McDermott dropped out in the semi-finals of the 400m earlier.

After two less than perfect starts in the previous two rounds, Lee got the start he needed and by the 30-metre mark had edged to the front and would not be denied as he outleaned the South African at the tape.

Not a man of many words, Lee told reporters after the race he knew he would win.

"I just came out here to do my best and it paid off," the Herbert Morrison High student said. "I was relaxed as I knew I could win all the time."

He said while 10.40 seconds was not fast, he was happy with the time as "conditions were not favourable, but you can't think about that when you are at the starting line."
He admitted he was "a bit anxious" at the start, but once the gun went off he was in control.
Claude Grant, Lee's high school coach and a member of the coaching team here, described the victory as a "job accomplished".
Grant said that "in terms of execution, we worked on the first 40 metres. I told him no one has ever beaten him over the first 40 and just to go there and keep the body moving and the race is his to win".

While saying he was pleased with Lee's win, head coach Danny Hawthorne said he had expected both Jamaicans to finish with a medal.

Blake blamed a bad start but extended congratulations to Lee. "I am proud of Dexter. I got a medal in my first year as well, really proud of him, trust me."

Earlier in the day, Jamaica's two intermediate hurdlers, Nikita Tracey and Shana-Gay Tracey, both advanced to today's semi-finals as automatic qualifiers.

Nikita Tracey of Edwin Allen High ran the fastest time of the morning, pushed in lane eight to a personal best 57.58 seconds by Trinidadian, Janeil Bellille (58.40) in the fastest heat of the day, which provided six qualifiers.

Tracey was happy with her race, saying, "I think it was a good race. I broke my personal best, so I am doubly satisfied."
Looking ahead to the semi-finals she said, "I would like to run as well as I can in the semi-finals and maybe get to the final."

Shana-Gay Tracey, who ran in an earlier heat, was second in 58.95 seconds behind Canadian Sarah-Lynn Wells' season best 58.89 as both crossed the line together.

Shana-Gay was tentative in her race, according to her coach at Manchester High and the technical leader here, Jerry Holness. He said she was working her way back to fitness after being sidelined last month with a hamstring injury.

Today, both athletes will run out of lane seven in the semi-finals set for 12:10 pm local time (5:10 am Jamaica time). Nikita will run in the first semi-final heat, with Shana-Gay in the second.

The first three from each heat and the next two fastest will advance to the finals tomorrow.

Latoya McDermott, Jamaica's only 400m semi-finalist, finished a disappointing fifth in her heat in a season best 54.15 seconds, but said she was not satisfied.

She had crossed the line in sixth place, but Trinidad & Tobago's Britany St Louis was later disqualified.

The World Youth silver medallist told the Observer she was aiming to run sub-53 seconds and her training was geared towards that.

"The time is not acceptable," she said. "I didn't come here to run 54.00 seconds; I was aiming at a 52-seconds time," she pointed out.

Batchelor failed once again in a major final when he finished a disappointing 11th, after jumping only 7.02m on his third effort and did not advance to the final eight.

Batchelor, who finished seventh in the final at the World Youth Championships last year, fouled on his first attempt, just inches over the board, in what appeared a big jump in excess of 7.80m.

His second attempt was cautious and got him only as far as 6.93m, while his third was just over 7.00m - well below his best.

An obviously distraught Batchelor was seen about 45 minutes after the event, walking and talking to himself. He did not respond to the Observer's attempt to get a few answers from him, instead walking straight ahead.