A team of three athletes, two from Enmore Sports Club (ESC) and one from Rupununi Athletic and Sports Academy, under the guidance of manager/coach John Martins, returned from a series of overseas tours, including participation in the just-concluded Hampton Games in Trinidad and Tobago.
The high point of the team’s performance was the personal best time of 10:47s clocked by ESC sprinter Kenneth (BC) Semple while competing in the 100 metres at the Brooklyn Games on May 26 where he placed seventh.
Earlier in the day, he clocked 10:63s in the heats, while he had a time of 6:30s in the men’s 60 metres dash.
Semple was also a member of the bronze medal winning Guyana 4x100m relay team which competed at the Hampton Games.
Prior to the Hampton Games, Semple’s previous best for the 100 metres was 10:60s clocked at a meet in the Morvant Jets Games in Trinidad last year.
But, after suffering a groin injury two weeks before leaving for the Hampton Games this year, he had a below par performance clocking 11:12s in the heats which was not good enough for him to qualify for the final.
He was, however, given an invitation to compete at the Trinidad senior championships scheduled for June 21 and 22 this year.
Thirteen-year-old Calvin Belgrave, also of ESC, turned in a few creditable performances at the Hampton Games where he clocked 26:50s in the Under-15 boys’ 200 metres and 1:04s in the 400 metres. He had won the Boys’ Under-13 400 metres at the 2007 Hampton Games.
He then recorded personal best times in both events one week later while competing at the Brooklyn Games clocking 26:3s in the 200 metres and 59:52s in the 400metres respectively.
Meanwhile, Ricardo Martin, who dominated the 800 and 1500 metres event at the 2007 National Secondary Schools Track and Field meet was the lone representative from Rupununi Athletic and Sports Academy.
He had the privilege of representing Guyana at this year’s Junior Carifta Games which was held in St Kitts, clocking a personal best time of 1:59:04s in the Under-20 Boys’ 800metres race at the Brooklyn Games held at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella, South Trinidad for a fifth-place finish.
Belgrave improved on his placing in the twin-island republic when he picked up a bronze in the Boys’ Under-17 800 metres with a time of 2:01:02s.
He also competed in the Under-20 Boys’ 1500 metres which he placed sixth with a time of 4:23:45s while being severely affected by an ankle injury.
Coach Martins, who was once a cycling coach attached to the Continental Wheelers Cycle Club, expressed his satisfaction with the performance of the athletes despite the fact that they won only two bronze medals.
“Even though persons would want to know that the athletes brought back gold medals, on the other hand you have to take a closer look at their performance and I am happy as they all recorded personal best times in their events at one time or the other.”
The team would like to express heartfelt thanks to Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony, Boodram’s Bakery of Enmore, Guyana Livestock and Pet Supplies, Caribbean Chemicals and Farfan and Mendes amongst others.
