Fifteen-year-old CARIFTA under-17 finalist, Tevin Garraway, leads the list of under-17 prospects for the short sprints at this weekend’s South American Youth Championship trials at the Police Sports Club Ground, Eve Leary.
The two-day meet will also serve as trials for the South American under-23 championships which will be held in Brazil from September 28-30.
Garraway’s coach, Lyndon Wilson, told Stabroek Sport yesterday that his athlete is one of the top local prospects at the youth level this year and he expects him to excel at this weekend’s trials.
“I think he (Garraway) is one of our better prospects and by virtue of him getting to the 100m and 200m final at the CARIFTA Games, I think that he is one to look at,” Wilson said.
Garraway placed eighth in the 100m final at the region’s premier junior track and field competition, CARIFTA Games in Bermuda, earlier this year. This was considered quite an impressive feat since Guyanese sprinters rarely ever make the final.
Most of Guyana’s success at the CARIFTA level had been achieved in the longer events over the years.
Just a month ago, Garraway showed his top form by winning all the sprint events (100m, 200m, and 400m) in the youth club category of the Guyana Police Force Track and Field Championships. Garraway also showed his versatility with a 51-second win in the 400m.
For this weekend’s meet, however, Garraway will only be competing in the 100m and 200m as he hopes to achieve the qualifying standards for the South American Youth Championships which will be held in Argentina from October 12-14.
“I think the 100m time is gettable for him but the 200m might be very stiff,” Wilson said.
One of Garraway’s main contenders in 200m will be his club mate and long-time rival Arinze Chance who will be competing in the 200m and 400m.
The IAAF-certified coach said that since it is a two-day event, Garraway will have the comfort of running each race on a different day and so he should be able to give his optimum in both races. Garraway will start his weekend with the 100m tomorrow and then on Sunday he will do the 200m.
Speaking about his preparations, Garraway told Stabroek Sport yesterday: “I feel strong, I’ve been training hard and the training is very intense.”
While Wilson was away, Garraway had been trained by another IAAF-certified coach from the Progressive Youth and Sports Club, Mark Scott.
Wilson also mentioned that the postponement of the competition to this weekend had hampered Garraway’s training cycle and he had to reduce his workload to ensure that the sprinter did not peak before the trials.
Garraway’s personal best hand-timed performances on grass are 10.7s in the 100m and 21.7s in the 200m. He will have to duplicate that personal best or run faster to qualify for the 100m and clock below 22 seconds in the 200m. His electronically-timed PBs are 11.01s and 22.6s which he achieved at the CARIFTA Games earlier this year.
The Leonora Secondary School student said that he is yearning for more exposure so that he can gain experience and develop into a world class athlete. Garraway said that once he makes the team for the South American Youth Championships he will be racing towards achieving his next goal – medalling at the event.
