Let’s take a look at five teenage athletes competing in several Track events in the ongoing Paris Olympics 2024.
Tharushi Karunarathna – 19 years
Sri Lanka’s very own Tharushi Karunarathna is among the athletes competing in the 800m, a challenging run that requires grit, endurance, agility, and stamina, but also an incredibly strong and steady mind. This athlete has already made the country proud with her Asian Games and Asian Athletics Championships victories, and has set an Asian record and a national record in this event too (2:00:06). She has also won the Silver medal in the 400m race.
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Karunarathna also holds the national records for the 400m and 800m events, and at just 19 years of age, she is now competing on the highest international level, which is a feat she has worked hard towards and deserves. There is no doubt that Sri Lanka will be cheering on this young athlete through her races.
Karunarathna’s Olympic debut will be made Today, August 2nd, from the State de France at 11:50PM, and is broadcast live on ThePapare TV, Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com. There will be many Sri Lankans taking to their screens to support her.
Quincy Wilson – 16 Years
This 16-year-old American specializes in the 400M and has made history with an Under 18 World Record (44.20), shattering many local records along the way. He has broken the national high school record 3 times with his races. Wilson is almost half the age of some of the competitions he was up against at the Olympic trials and has now made it to become one of the youngest members of the U.S. Olympic Team, across all events.
Although not selected for the opening round of the mixed 4x400m, there is a possibility he could run the finals, or the men’s 4x400m opening round or final. This is an incredible feat at merely 16 years of age, as Wilson still has plenty of more time to improve in his future, and he will likely be competing in the individual men’s 400m soon.
The mixed 4x400m heats begin today, August 2nd, from the State de France at 10.40 PM, and are broadcast live on ThePapare TV, Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com.
Adaejah Hodges – 18 Years
Hodges is a track and field athlete from the British Virgin Islands who competes as a sprinter and will be competing in the 200m. She is the youngest athlete to compete in this event at the Paris Olympics. She ran a U20 world record of 22.33 seconds, at her high school championships in the 200m (2023), and has set a new national record in the 100m too (11.11) She was also the third female athlete from the British Virgin Islands who has qualified for the semi-finals in the World Athletics Championships.
Sprint events are one of the most competitive and difficult, for a millisecond makes a massive difference, making Hodges’ selection a remarkable achievement in itself.
The 200m heats begin on August 4th, from the State de France at 2:25 PM, and are broadcast live on ThePapare TV, Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com.
Mattia Furlani – 19 Years
This young Italian athlete will be competing in the Long Jump in the Paris Olympics, holding the current World U20 record of 8.38m (2024). Furlani holds the European U20 indoor record for this event (2023) too. At age 18, with wind assistance, he was able to jump 8.44m; the longest jump in history by an U20 athlete in all conditions. This would have been a world U20 record, if not for the wind being above the legal limit.
At 17 years of age, Furlani has also broken the European U20 indoor long jump record, jumping 7.99m, winning national championships. At this year’s Olympics, he has the opportunity to try again and set a new world record too.
Rounds A and B for Long Jump begin on August 4th, from the State de France at 2:30 PM, and is broadcast live on ThePapare TV, Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com.
Sole and Sanaa Fredrick – 18 Years
The 18-year-old twins from Trinidad and Tobago, Sole and Sanaa Frederick, will be competing in the 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics. They are the youngest of the 7 women who are representing their country in this year’s Olympics and are also the first twins to represent their country. They have shared their elation to be sharing this experience and donned their national colours at the Carifta Games in 2023. Sanaa won the girl’s U20 200m while Sole won the silver, and they teamed up to win silver in the 4x100m for their country.
The twins have the goal of giving their best to help their country advance from the heats, which are held on August 8th, into the finals on August 9th. They will be broadcast live from the State de France at 2:40 PM, on ThePapare TV, Dialog ViU app, and ThePapare.com.
