By Kiev Chesney
Guyana’s top female sprinter and 2007 Sportswoman of the Year Alisha Fortune is again enjoying a successful campaign on the track scene in Trinidad and Tobago.
Although she has not yet qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics to be held in Beijing, China, Fortune has so far won six races and recorded two third place finishes, in four competitions within the last three weeks in Trinidad.
Fortune competed at the Hampton International Games, the Zenith Interclub meet, Point Fortin International Games and the Masters’ International Grand Prix.
At the Masters International, she made a clean sweep of the sprint events, winning the 60m, 100m, 200m and 400m making her the clear choice for the Most Outstanding International Athlete Award at that meet. Last weekend, she clocked 11.76s in the Women’s International Invitational 100m dash, about 0.30 seconds short of the qualifying time for the Beijing Olympics, but well enough for third place behind Trinidad’s Ayanna Hutchinson (11.42s) and Wanda Hudson (11.68s).
Fortune’s other third place finish this season was in the 100m of the Zenith Games which was held two Sundays ago. She also completed a sprint-double in the 100m and 200m events at the Point Fortin International Games which was held on April 27, two days after she arrived in the twin-island republic.
Fortune, who has been Guyana’s lone senior sprinter competing on local soils for quite some time, said that she travels to Trinidad every year to compete for many reasons.
She mentioned that the some of the advantages of competing in Trinidad include running on their many rubberized tracks as apposed to grass tracks in Guyana.
She also said competitions are held more regularly and that she is exposed to more skilled opponents that would boost her performance every time she takes to the track.
Apart from her dominance on the local level, her success in many international competitions that she medalled in throughout the region (mostly in T&T), formed an impressive resume for the 2007 sportswoman of the year.
Already off to a flying start, Fortune plans to continue her successful track campaign for the next month regionally, and with her recent fitness title in the Hugh Ross Classic already in the bag, she just may have an attractive enough resume to defend that Sportswoman of the Year award come next year.
