This year’s national championships might have been affected by a lack of cooperation between the government, the Guyana Teachers Union and the regional representatives but it did not lack talent.
And certainly the Athletic Association of Guyana can immediately pinpoint a number of athletes from those championships who can be groomed to possibly represent Guyana at the 2012 Olympic games in London.
During the national schools championships, a number of records were broken and champions were dethroned by young and upcoming athletes or to coin a phrase “The Rising Stars of 2007”.
Although some of these athletes might have been around the athletics scene for a while, it seems as if this year’s championships served as their “coming out party.”
By dint of their outstanding performance it seems certain that they managed to attract the attention of coaches, officials and other individuals.
What is needed now is for there to be some plan aimed at continuing their development so that they can reach their potential.
Ricardo Martin
One of the stars of the 2007 `nationals’ was undoubtedly Ricardo Martin.
Martin won the boys’ U-16 800m, 1500m and 3000m and was eventually voted champion boy in that category.
But before staging two record-breaking performances at this year’s championships, Martin was virtually unheard of in athletics.
His breakout race, however, was at this year’s Guyana Police Force (GPF) annual athletic championships where he won the Police Youth Club members 800m in a time of two minutes and eight seconds beating several competent opponents.
This victory, along with the intense training sessions that he reportedly undergoes in the hilly area of the Rupununi has certainly made Martin a serious threat on the middle distance scene locally and certainly is one for the future.
Carlon Halley
Another impressive distance prospect that emerged during the championships was Carlon Halley.
This youngster took the `nationals’ by storm when he completed two stunning upsets over reigning U-20 middle distance `King’ Denis Horatio.
This could be the start of a serious rivalry which could only redound to Guyana’s benefit, especially if these two youngsters are given the opportunity to benefit from some advanced training methods and techniques in addition to competing at higher levels.
Janella Jonas
The National Stadium at Providence might soon get the promised lights but the stadium was illuminated every time young Janella Jonas took to the track.
Jonas had been performing creditably earlier in the year at a few of the AAG’s meets which landed her a spot on the AAG’s Gold Squad.
Her performance at the `nationals’ not only confirmed the belief that she is indeed one of the country’s best, but it revealed that she may be a serious contender, regionally in the 800m since she seems better suited for shorter distances as opposed to training partner and regional distance sensation Alika Morgan.
Koby Hurst
Koby Hurst of North Georgetown Primary was named U-8 champion boy, a very appropriate honour for this talented seven-year-old.
He stole the show in the U-8 category as he demonstrated the fortitude of a young champion, running his little heart out to stage many seemingly impossible come-from-behind victories.
Hurst energized the crowd every time he took to the track, knowing that they could expect a breathtaking performance from the `little dynamo.
Arinze Chance
Arinze Chance completed a very impressive victory in the 100m boys’ U-12 beating his nearest opponents by more than 15 metres.
Chance was however, stunned by Tevin Garraway of South Georgetown in the 200m and 400m.
Garraway has tremendously improved during the past year and appears to have found his niche in the 200 and 400m where he is now the holder of the national records for those events in his age group.
Letitia Myles
Letitia Myles also of south Georgetown (District 13), dominated in the U-16 category with her unorthodox hand mechanism resembling that of Michael Johnson, world record holder in 200m and 400m which, incidentally, are the two events that Myles shines most in.
Parish Cadogan
Parish Cadogan of district 10 turned many heads with a record-breaking leap in the U-14 long jump followed by a victory in the triple jump. Other outstanding athletes that were victorious on multiple occasions included Shonette Rodrigues, Rondel Dey, Treshaun Thompson, Keyon Davis and Ozioma Scott.
While many of these athletes may have been to the `nationals’ before and have improved on prior performances, 11-year-old President’s College student Oneidge Anthony was an exception to this trend when she brandished her raw talent.
Anthony took to track in her first ever national schools championships and fearlessly sprinted to an unchallenged victory in the girls’ U-12 100m.
Anthony, who had never competed beyond the inter house championship level, confessed that her finals were just as easy as the preliminaries at inter schools and inter branches.
She attributed most of her success to her family and Physical Education teacher at the college, Keith Smith.
But the most electrifying performances during the 2007 national schools championships came from Carlwyn Collins.
Collins was absent from last year’s championships but made his presence felt as he won every individual event that he participated in setting new records for each.
Since his performances were beyond his age, this 15-year-old prodigy will definitely excel at the regional level in the coming athletic season.
Who knows, Collins might be a legitimate world champion prospect if he continues to progress at this rate.
It was clear that the 2007 national championships suffered tremendously from lack of funding, a disease that plagues most sporting events in this country.
One would urge those responsible for the planning of next year’s event to recognize that the young children, who run their little hearts and souls out at these events are the future of this country and it would be extremely wise to invest in their future.
While not wanting to dwell on the unsavoury aspects of this year’s championships, the failure to provide proper accommodation and meals for the nation’s young athletes must never happen again.
