Two weeks after the National Schools Athletics, Swimming and Cycling Championships, there are lingering memories of the problematic 51st edition of the event but the scintillating performances of some athletes have boosted the status of this pre-eminent event.
There were six such athletes whose performances eclipsed the organizational problems affecting the smooth running of the Schools Nationals. These athletes are female youth sprinter Jevina Sampson, Youth Commonwealth representative Letitia Myles, sprinter Tevin Garraway, national junior champion Chavez Ageday, Carifta representative Melissa Byass and an unknown from the Rupununi, Regina John.
Sampson, Myles and Garraway ran away with sprint triples while Byass picked up a triple of her own. Ageday ran away with a sprint double leaving a lasting impression in the 100 metres while the most impressive performance might have come from the small-framed, 13-year-old John of the Rupununi.
Sampson was the first to capture a sprint triple in the under-14 category (100, 200 and 400m) while breaking the 100 and 400 metres record in the process.
Stabroek Sport spoke to the 13-year-old rising star of North Georgetown (District 11) about her performances.
“My performances were good but I think I could have done better in the 400 metres,” Sampson said. Sampson who trains with the Running Brave Athletic Club also explained how she felt about breaking her two records,
”I feel great on breaking the records, something I always wanted to do,” she commented.
When asked by Stabroek Sport what should the athletics world expect from her next year, the young star simply stated, “better”.
Meanwhile Letitia Myles is starting to blossom into the dominant athlete she was predicted to be, since joining the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) earlier in the year.
Myles who competed for South Georgetown (District 13) has had ups and downs in her tenure as a sprinter but showed great potential by being undefeated in the latter part of the year, crowning it with wins in the 100, 200 and 400 metres events in the under-20 category at the championships.
“My performance wasn’t anything special at nationals because I didn’t have any competition so next year I will be looking to make all the youth teams for my country,” Myles told Stabroek Sport in a telephone interview.
Garraway was also quite successful in his campaign as a West Demerara athlete (District 3), winning a sprint triple of 100, 200 and 400m while breaking the 100 metres under-16 record.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport Garraway talked about how he felt accomplishing these feats.
“I feel good that I came out successful… I’m satisfied with the results from the year of training I had and to break the 100 metres record feels good since I have been running under the record for the year,” Garraway stated.
Meanwhile, seasoned campaigner Chavez Ageday who won a sprint double (100 and 200 metres) and dominated what was dubbed the marquee event at the junior championships; the boys under-20 100 metres, displayed true power sprinting, defeating his upstart rival Stephan James who later suffered an injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the championships.
“Well my performances were good although I didn’t get the timings I was looking for… I didn’t have a plan on how to – I was just trying to run as fast as possible but was unable to run a better time,” Ageday told Stabroek Sport.
Melissa Byass who also captured a triple – 400, 800 and 1500 metres – displayed immense potential.
But one of the most outstanding performances of the entire championships came from John who defeated two-time 1500 metres gold medalist at Carifta Jevina Straker in the 10 kilometres road race after arriving mere hours before the event.
John had to endure the overland trip of over 500 miles from the Rupununi to Georgetown but she produced a memorable performance that will be etched in the memories of athletic fans.
Efforts by Stabroek Sport to reach the latter two athletes proved futile since Byass hails from New Amsterdam (District 15) and John is from the Rupununi (District 9).
