VILLANOVA, Pa.—Rising sophomore middle distance runner Dan Watcke (Hinsdale, Ill.) is set to represent the United States at the World Athletics U20 Championships Lima 2024. Watcke arrived in Lima on Sunday and will begin competition Tuesday with the heats of the 800 meters. He part of a contingent of 100 U.S. athletes who will compete in Peru this week.
 
The heats of the men's 800 meters start at 1 p.m. Eastern time (12 p.m. local time in Lima) on Tuesday afternoon at Estadio Atlético de la Videna. The world championships will be streamed live in a number of territories on World Athletics Inside Track, as well as via broadcasters around the world. Fans can visit the official meet website for more information on where to watch and follow live coverage. Competition in the 800 meters continues beyond Tuesday with semifinals on Thursday afternoon and the championship race on Friday.
 
Watcke qualified for the World Athletics U20 Championships by finishing second in the 800 meters at the USATF U20 Championships in Oregon on June 13. He recorded a time of 1:47.59 in the final at the USATF meet while racing for the third time in five days. Prior to the meet, he registered a lifetime best mark of 1:46.78 at the Portalnd Track Festival on June 9 and followed that race with a time of 1:50.50 in the USATF U20 preliminaries. Athletes qualify for the World Athletics U20 Championships by being in the top six of their event at the USATF meet in addition to having achieved the World Athletics qualifying standard by the conclusion of the event.
 
The top U20 runners in the world converge on Lima this week, with 33 countries represented among the 52 athletes who are entered into the first round of the 800 meters. Watcke is ranked seventh in that group with the PR he set earlier in the year. He is coming off a freshman collegiate season in which he was the BIG EAST runner-up in the 800 meters (1:47.00) and went on to reach the national quarterfinal round at the NCAA East Preliminary Lexington, Ky.
 
Watcke is no stranger to competing on the world stage. His second-place finish at the USATF U20 meet this year was the third time he medaled in the 800 meters at the meet, as he previously won a pair of bronze medals at the championships. His PR in the 800 meters prior to college of 1:47.99 came in the medal race of the 2023 U20 meet and he went on to win gold at the Pan American U20 Championships later that summer.