Headquarters (HQ) with a commanding lead of 213, trailed by their closest rivals ‘A’ Division on 130 points, is set to be the top athletics division as the police athletics championships wind down today with a keenly anticipated contest in the men’s 1500 metres.
Meanwhile, Guyana must simply see it through the day to become victors in the ‘A’ Class competition as they lead Trinidad and Antigua 157 to 45 and 25 respectively.
However, while both HQ and Guyana are seemingly on their way to victory in their respective classes, there is still riveting rivalry to set the Eve Leary Ground on fire when the games commence at 10:00 hrs.
The men’s 1500 metres will definitely be a scorcher as Trevor Scotland who won the 800 metres on day one will match strides with Dennis Horatio who won the men’s 5000 metres on day two.
Horatio has already laid claim to the men’s 1500 metres. “This is just the beginning because I’ll take the 1500 metres on Friday (today) as well,” Horatio told Stabroek Sport after winning the 5000 metres on Wednesday.
Although the battle lines are drawn for the showdown between himself and Scotland in the 1500 metres, the dark horse Kevin Bailey must also be in the reckoning.
The women’s 400 metres is also expected to be a heated clash among Nadine Rodrigues, Shannah Thornhill and Jonella Jonas.
While Rodrigues who is favoured to win the event looked comfortable during her heat, placing second to Jonas, Thornhill’s known ability to win big 400 metres races cannot be counted out along with Jonas’ superior strength in the last 100 metres of the race. Meanwhile, Terry Easton from both his 100 and 200 metres heat looks the pick to complete a ‘B’ class sprint double but he will have Trevor Benn, Derwin Eastmond and 2008 Inter-Guiana Games 100 metres silver medalist Timothy Doris to contend with in the 100 metres.
However, his 200 metres path seems clearer as none of his opponents ran close to his heat time.
Former junior sprint champ Leota Babb is also set to capture the 100 metres when the event runs off today but she will face a stout challenge from the continuously improving and consistent Alita Moore who might be the next top female sprinter in the police camp.
The men’s shot put will be a battle also as former record holder Ronald Payne will come up against the new record holder, Julio Sinclair.
Both men already faced off earlier in the competition in the men’s discuss with Sinclair winning the battle, but Payne is known for his shot put prowess and will be more inclined to battle a bit harder to regain his top spot. Athletics Association of Guyana’s (AAG) female Athlete-of-the-Year Natasha Alder is expected to maintain her dominance in field events which she established for the past two years.
With the keen rivalry anticipated, this Police Sports meet is expected to be one of the better ones as HQ heads for yet another championship.
