Southlander competes in 1500m World Junior Championships final
Southland's James McLeay ran a personal best 3min 45.12sec which had him finish fifth in his heat to book the spot in the 1500m final at the World Junior Athletics Championships.
Get each Tribune edition sent direct to your inbox by entering your email address.
Southland’s James McLeay has produced a personal best to get to line up with the world’s best young 1500m runners on the global stage.
McLeay competed in the 1500m final at the World Junior Athletics Championships in Lima on Sunday morning.
He progressed to the final after delivering an impressive run on day one of the World Junior Athletics Championships.
McLeay ran a personal best 3min 45.12sec which spurred him to finish fifth in his heat to book the spot in the final.
He drew the outside lane in heat two of three heats and worked hard to lead in the initial stages. As the race developed, he stayed in touch with the leading group.
With 400m to go, he was boxed in, and as they approached the home straight McLeay had to push out, costing him a few metres, however, he powered home.
McLeay raced from the inside land in Sunday’s final and by the 300m mark had found himself shuffled to the back of the field leaving himself with a lot of work to do to get around the field.
As the pace picked up at the front McLeay struggled to stick with the leaders finishing last in the 14-strong field with a time of 3min 50.63sec - 10 seconds behind the winner from Ethiopia.
But the 18-year-old’s 14th-place finish on the international stage is impressive for the Southland teen.
It’s been a massive year for McLeay considering he also competed at the World Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships where he finished a credible 27th battling the heat of Kenya.
Earlier the year McLeay also picked up a bronze medal competing in the Australian national track and field championships in the under 20 men’s 1500m.