Maame Biney, the bubbly 17-year-old on the U.S. Olympic short track team, won the world junior title in the 500m, her best event, in Poland on Saturday.
Biney crossed in 44.305 seconds, edging a Hungarian by .054.
She became the first American to win a world junior title since three-time Olympic medalist J.R. Celski in 2009.
Biney took bronze in the 500m at last year’s junior worlds. She also impressively advanced to the 500m quarterfinals in PyeongChang ahead of a South Korean veteran.
Born in Ghana, Biney moved to the U.S. at age 5 and was raised in Reston, Va., by a single father, Kweku, who previously immigrated to the U.S.
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