By Marlon Munroe
National schools’ champion high jumper Maxsim Duncan fittingly brought the curtain down on the Inter-Guiana Games trials at the Enmore Community Centre ground yesterday after pulsating track rivalry when athletes vied for places on Guyana’s Track and Field team for Cayenne, French Guiana next month.
Essequibian Duncan, who cleared a height of 1.85m, once again emerged victorious ahead of Carlton Pitt (1.83m) and Jermain Durant (1.81m) in a repeat of last year’s schools’ track and field championships at Albion. The three jumpers constantly raised the bar and upped the pressure on the other before Durant, who used the scissors technique, was eliminated.
The flawless technician Duncan, who was cool and calm throughout the competition, eventually stamped his authority one last time with Pitt, having no answers, bowing out with the customary three knockdowns.
Meanwhile, junior sprint prodigy Chaves Ageday comfortably won the 100m in a time of 10.9 seconds ahead of Sean Semple’s 11.4s and Kareem Critchlow’s 11.8. He later returned in the afternoon to complete the sprint double in a time of 23.3s with Semple again settling for second in a time of 23.7s and Franken Mercurius rounding out the third spot with 23.9 seconds.
On the distaff side Tiffany Carto continued her reign with a healthy time of 12.5s ahead of Ianna Graham, who made some technical blunders early in the race, to register 12.7 and Deja Smartt with 13.0s in the 100m. However, Carto had to be content with third place in a time of 27.1s after she tasted defeat at the hands from Nadine Rodrigues who clocked 26.3s in the 200m and Graham with second in a time of 26.8s.
Rodrigues, who recently returned to competition after a brief sabbatical, stormed to the pole position for the 400m with a time of 1:01.2s ahead of Shannah Thornhill (1:01.9) and the young Ashley Tasher (1:03.2). On the male side many were disappointed after national champion Carlwin Collins pulled up with a slight muscle strain after the first 100m of the 400m event.
The champ, who recently returned to action after injury and exams last year, ran the best times in the 400m and 200m heats of the day. He stunned the crowd with in the 200m running out of the lane five when he ate up the stagger by the first turn and increased his lead by the stretch for home before decelerating and easing it down to the line in a technical display for all aspiring athletes.
Stefan James ended up winning the 400m with great finishing speed to register 52.2s ahead of Mercurius’ 52.7s and Leon David’s 53.7.
In other events Jevina Straker comfortably won the 800m in 2:29.0 while Kevin Bailey took the boys event in 2:05.36. Winston Caesar copped the long and triple jumps with leaps of 6.66m and 13.37m respectively.
