Hodge, 18, who claimed silver in the same event at the 2022 Championships, upgraded her medal to gold as she topped the field in 22.74s, marking a significant milestone in her budding career.
The Olympian’s victory was the highlight of a successful night for the Caribbean, as 16-year-old Douglas also secured a spot on the podium, finishing third in 23.10s in a thrilling race that once again showcased the region's sprinting prowess. The Caribbean duo was separated by Australia’s Torrie Lewis, who clocked a personal best of 22.88s for second.
From the gun, Hodge, who was determined to improve on her previous silver medal finish, established herself as a solid contender for the top spot. With powerful strides and impeccable form, she maintained her composure around the curve and later exploded in the straight to leave rivals in her wake.
Hodge’s win and Douglas’ bronze brought the curtains down on what was the most successful for the Caribbean since the start of the five-day Championships, as Kerrica Hill earlier copped Jamaica’s second gold medal when she clocked 12.99s to top the women’s 100m hurdles. She won ahead of Croatia’s Mia Wild (13.15s) and Delta Amidzovski (13.24s) of Australia.
Jamaica now has two gold medals and one bronze, while Hodge claimed her country's first medal.
Carlos Brown Jr (21.51s) of the Bahamas finished eighth in the men's 200m final.
Prior to that, Jamaica’s Richard Hall and Cuba’s Yander Herrera missed out on the podium in the men’s final, as both clocked in at 13.46s for fifth and sixth. The event was won by American Ja’Kobe Tharp in a new World Under-20 leading time of 13.05s.
His compatriot Andre Korbmacher (13.14s) was second, with China’s Yuanjiang Chen third in 13.21s, a national Under-20 record.
Meanwhile, Michelle Smith of US Virgin Islands once again established herself as the gold medal favourite, as she was the fastest through to Saturday’s final. Smith clocked a brisk 56.39s to win semi-final two, while Haiti’s Gloria Guerrier (1:00.20) finished eighth and failed to progress.
Jamaica’s Kelly Ann Carr suffered a similar fate in semi-final three as she placed eighth in 1:00.33.
Only one Caribbean athlete will be present in the men’s final and that is Jamaica’s Daniel Wright, who topped semi-final three in 51.11s, while Trinidad and Tobago’s Cheyne West (53.09s) placed seventh in the same race and missed out.
Another Jamaican Trevoy Smith (54.24s), also finished down the track in a brisk semi-final one, which saw the top two qualifiers crossing the line together in a World Under-20 leading time of 49.36s.
The 400m hurdles finals are scheduled for 4:35pm Jamaica time on Saturday.
The 19-year-old, who has raced sparingly this season, produced a comfortable 13.18 to win the first of eight heats on Thursday morning.
Joining her in the semis will be Barbados’ Maya Alexis Rollins and Jamaica’s Habiba Harris who ran 13.71 and 13.74 to finish fourth and second in heats eight and seven, respectively.
The Men’s sprint hurdles saw Jamaicans Richard Hall and Daniel Beckford both advance to the semi-finals.
Hall was the tenth-fastest qualifier overall after running 13.58 to win the third heat while Beckford advanced in a non-automatic spot after running 13.74 for fourth in heat one.
Elsewhere, 100m silver medallist Adaejah Hodge was the fastest through to the 200m semi-finals after winning her heat in 23.19.
Jamaica’s Shanoya Douglas and Sabrina Dockery also advanced to the semis scheduled for later on Thursday.
Douglas ran 23.51 to comfortably win her heat while Dockery ran 23.80 for second in hers.
In the Men’s equivalent, Guyana’s Jackson Clarke won heat two in 21.37 to advance while Bahamian Carlos Brown Jr finished second in heat six in 21.31 to get through.
Barbados’ Aragon Straker (21.23) and Jamaica’s Romario Hines (21.35) both advanced as non-automatic qualifiers.
Hodge was first up, competing in the first heat alongside Caribbean counterpart Kishawna Niles from Barbados.
As expected, Hodge cruised to 11.45, the fastest time in the heats, to win ahead of Niles who will also be in the semifinals after running 11.63 in second.
Reid, Jamaica’s national junior 100m record holder, was up next in the third heat.
The former Hydel High standout, who represented her country in the Women’s 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympics recently, ran a comfortable 11.46 to win her heat.
Dominican Republic’s Liranyi Alonso (11.77) and Puerto Rico’s Frances Colon (11.83) also booked spots in the semi-finals.
On the Men’s side, Jamaica’s Gary Card and Deandre Daley secured safe passage through to the semifinals.
Card, who has a personal and season’s best of 10.07 which he did to defeat Daley at the JAAA National Junior Championships at the National Stadium in Kingston in June, eased to a time of 10.40 to win the fifth heat.
Daley, a 10.08 performer at his best, recovered from a stumble at the start of his race to cruise home in 10.37 to win heat six.
Bahamian Carlos Brown Jr (10.48) also made it through to the semis scheduled for later on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Jamaica’s quartet of Demarco Bennett, Nastassia Fletcher, Marcinho Rose and Alliah Baker advanced to the final of the Mixed 4x400m relay with a time of 3:24.77 to finish second in their heat behind Germany who won in 3:24.10.
In the field, Jamaica’s Shaiquan Dunn threw 19.53m to advance to the final of the Men’s shot put.
In the triple jump, Jamaica’s Chavez Penn barely booked a spot in the final, jumping 15.32m to take the twelfth and final spot, finishing just two centimeters ahead of Colombia’s Santiago Theran.
Trinidad & Tobago's Janae De Gannes produced 6.03m to advance to the final of the women's long jump.
