Marisleisys Duarthe could have retired from the girls’ javelin final after the first round and she would have still walked away with the gold medal. But the Cuban continued churning out big throws round after round in an effort to improve on her own world U18 best of 65.44m.

Given that she will be the only girl in action in Nairobi who has set a world U18 record this year, it’s fair to say Cuban javelin thrower Marisleisys Duarthe is one of the biggest favourites in any event.

Haruka Kitaguchi caused a major surprise at the IAAF World Youth Championships, Cali 2015 to deliver Japan’s first ever women’s throws gold on the global stages by adding more than five metres to her pre-competition lifetime best on Thursday (17).

Yu Yuzhen set a world youth best of 61.97m with the 500g implement at the Asian Youth Championships in Doha in May and starts a clear favourite in Cali.

Ask Australia’s 2013 IAAF World Youth Championships Javelin gold medallist Mackenzie Little to tell the likes of Barbora Spotakova and Christina Obergfoll apart and she admits that she might be hard-pressed to identify the Czech and German stars of her event.

Australia’s Mackenzie Little won a dramatic battle with Cuba’s Yulenmis Aguilar in the girls’ Javelin Throw final, with both athletes swapping ownership of the championship record and the lead in a thrilling tussle for gold.