Bermuda sprinter Jeneko Place has qualified for the semi-finals of the men’s 200 metres at the World Youth Championships in Lille, France.Place finished second in his heat behind top young Jamaican, Odean Skeen, in a time of 21.89 seconds, yesterday.Skeen, who beat Place to win the 100 and 200 metres at the 2010 Carifta Games, won the heat in 21.75.Kyle Webb, also representing the Island, set a personal best in his heat with a time of 22.49. He finished eighth but didn’t qualify for the semis, which will be held tomorrow.Bermuda Track and Field Association president, Donna Watson, said Place’s performance had been all the more impressive considering he had been carrying a sickness bug.“We were concerned as Jeneko has been sick since the 100 metres and Xavier James (his coach) has been giving me daily updates,” said Watson. “As of Thursday he was only eating a small amount of food, and he was getting him to drink as much as he could to stay hydrated.”Watson also praised Webb for his personal best display. “That is not bad as this is his first international meet outside of this year’s Carifta,” she said.Place, who had a disappointing Carifta Games due to an injury, finished third in his 100 metres heat earlier this week in a time of 10.88 seconds, while team-mate Scott Clarke also posted a personal best of 11.08 to finish his heat in fifth. Neither runner qualified for the semis.Also representing the Island at the Championships is Bruce DeGrilla (medley relay). A few of Bermuda’s female athletes had also met the qualifying standard but were too young to compete.In preparation for the event, which finishes tomorrow, Bermuda’s foursome headed to the Regional Development Centre in San Juan, Puerto Rico, to work with some of the top coaches in the Caribbean.The seventh edition of the Championships is being held at at Stadium Lille-Métropole in Lille. Athletes must be aged 16 or 17 to compete.