A long jumper from London, Ont., has claimed Canada's first medal of the 2010 IAAF World Junior Track and Field Championships — and it came in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night.

Taylor Stewart, 19, unleashed a jump of 7.63 metres on his sixth and final attempt, moving into a podium position.

"I would say it's storybook," Stewart said. "The crowd, everybody was behind me."

Luvo Manyonga of South Africa took the gold with a jump of 7.99 metres, while Euseblo Caceres of Spain earned silver with a 7.90 performance.

Stewart was fourth heading into his final jump, trailing Panama's Jhamal Bowen by just one centimetre.

The medal-winning leap came just as the announcer was introducing the competitors in the marquee men's 100-metre event, which featured Jamaican star Dexter Lee and Toronto's Aaron Brown.

Rhythmic clapping

When it became clear that Stewart was about to make his final jump, the crowd shifted its attention away from the starting blocks and began the traditional rhythmic clapping, which is meant to be in sync with the athlete's approach.

But Stewart said the crowd was a little too enthusiastic, clapping too fast for his liking.

"I moved my [starting] mark back a bit, so I wouldn't fault. I guess it was a good decision."

Across the track in the men's 100, Lee — the man heralded as the next Usain Bolt — crossed the line in first place in 10.21 seconds into a slight headwind.

American Charles Silmon finished second in 10.23, while France's Jimmy Vicaut settled for third in 10.28.

After beating Lee in the semifinal, Brown couldn't overcome a poor start in the final, winding up fifth in 10.48.

"Nerves, a quick gun," he said, trying to explain why he was slow out of the blocks.

Great start

Earlier in the night, Brown had a great start, winning his semifinal over the heavily favoured Lee.

"It felt great. It was kind of a David-and-Goliath kind of thing. I knew if I had a good start, I could compete with anybody here. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good start in the final," Brown said.

"But definitely in the semi, it felt really good to beat one of the top guys in the world."

Lee has drawn comparisons to Usain Bolt, but he has downplayed any talk of filling those shoes.

"I just want to stick to what I came here to do: Lead through the first 50 metres and win from there," Lee said.

Lee became the first sprinter to defend a world junior title in the 100 metres. He is also scheduled to compete in the 200-metre and 4x100-metre relay.

In the women's 100m final, Loudia Laarman of Lethbridge, Alta., finished seventh in 11.81 seconds. Jodie Williams of Great Britain won the race in 11.40.

Source: cbc.ca