CARIFTA Games bound sprinters Avon Samuels, Tirana Mitchell, Jason Yaw and Alita Moore registered remarkably fast performances at last weekend’s Developmental Meet held at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground, Camp Ayanganna.
However, Coach of the Running Brave Track club Julian Edmonds said that although the sprinters continue to amaze him with those extremely fast times, a tough challenge awaits them at the CARIFTA Games which will be held in The Bahamas from March 28-April 1.
Edmonds said that the sprint events are extremely competitive and medals are harder to attain.
“It’s going to be tough for the sprinters to medal at CARIFTA,” Edmonds said.
“Making the finals alone would be a good achievement but it would take a lot for the sprinters to get medals.
Two of Edmonds athletes on the CARIFTA Games team, Yaw and Samuels, improved on their personal records at last Sunday’s meet. Yaw clocked 50.71s in the 400m and 21.1s in the 200m which was even faster than the times that he achieved at the trials two weeks ago to make the CARIFTA team.
Edmonds said that he has been keeping up with the progress of some of the under 17 sprinters around the region and Yaw’s times are on par with some of the region’s top athletes.
While Yaw’s performances seem to match what athletes ran at their respective CARIFTA trials, Edmonds said that there are always under the radar athletes that emerge at CARIFTA. Although Edmonds favours his chances, he stated that Yaw will have to work hard if he hopes to make the podium in the under-17 200m and 400m.
South American junior bronze medallist Stephan James had qualified for CARIFTA with 50.9s and returned with a personal best more than two seconds faster according to Edmonds. The Running Brave club coach said that after comparing Yaw’s splits, he expects him to similarly lower his personal record at the event to a mid or low 48-second mark.
Edmonds’ other under-17 athlete, Samuels, also improved on the times that she recorded at the CARIFTA trials, clocking 24.4s in the 200m and 58.6s. Like Yaw, Samuels will be making her debut at the event this year. Edmonds said that the consistent competition has helped his athlete to run faster as the season progresses and he hopes that both Samuels and Yaw are able to turn in personal records at CARIFTA. Edmonds said that Samuels’ 200m performances in recent weeks has been nothing short of remarkable for a 14-year-old athlete.
In the 200m, which Edmonds said is her better event at the moment, Samuels had clocked 25s and progressively improved to 24.4s.
Edmonds described Samuels as a ‘tracker’ in the 400m and said that he hopes that she will feed of the speed of the CARIFTA athletes and lower her personal best in the quarter mile to around 55 seconds.
Mitchell, of Mercury Fast Laners, who will also be competing in the girls’ under-17 200m, also improved on her 200m personal best last weekend. Mitchell was first out of the bend once again, and eased down the homestretch to finish the race in 24.1s. Mitchell will also compete in the 100m after posting 11.9s at the CARIFTA trials. Police Progressive Youth Club athlete Alita Moore maintained her form clocking 11.7 to equal the mark she posted at CARIFTA trials.
