World youth 800m leader Weissenbach - ‘I don't know how much faster I can go’ – Lille 2011

Amy Weissenbach of the United States at the Lille Pre-Event Press Conference (Bob Ramsak)

Lille, France - Amy Weissenbach, the world leader at 800m, feels no real pressure that she will line up as favourite for the gold medal at the 7th IAAF World Youth Championships which take place in Lille (6-10 July).

Weissenbach insists she will step onto the almost brand new blue re-surfaced track at the renovated Lille Metropole Stadium fairly relaxed, and that she can progress through tomorrow's heat and Friday's semi-final to become the first-ever American to win a championship medal over the distance.

The 17-year-old raised eyebrows at the California state championships in Clovis on 4 June where she clocked 2:02.04, erasing the three-year-old girls' national best of 2:02.90 belonging to Chanelle Price.  

The performance, which also saw her become the quickest ever by an American Youth in succession to the legendary Mary Slaney who clocked 2:02.29 in July 1974, saw her massively reduced her 2010 best of 2:07.52 with a dazzling two circuits of the track.