Remarkable displays of speed, strength, stamina and leaping ability, enabled the Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) to retain the championship trophy of the Boyce/Jefford Classic on Sunday night at the Mackenzie Sports Club (MSC) ground.
With the continued absence of 2013 champions, Running Brave Athletic Club, PPYC tallied 354 points to once again defeat last year’s runners up Guyana Defence Force (GDF) track and field team by 23 points in the sixth edition of the Classic.
Linden (110 points) and Mercury Fast Laners (71) finished third and fourth respectively to be among the money.
Throughout the rainy two-day championships the victors who earned the $600,000 first prize, threw, leaped and ran away with most of the events while placing in the top five in many of the others.
Winston George, Kevin Bayley, Julio Sinclair and Deja Smartt were instrumental in PPYC’s success.
Here are a few highlights:
George who has represented Guyana numerous times on the world stage showed his class by recording a sprint double.
Men’s 100m, 200m
The 2012 Olympian who wings out for the World Championships in China later this week, won the two marquee track events (100m and 200m ) with the wind and the soggy track providing the most opposition.
George, the national 400m record holder also anchored Police’s 4x400m relay team to the gold.
He was also adjudged the male champion athlete along with Sinclair (Shot Put and Discus winner) and Ford (1500m and 5000m winner) who tallied 20 individual points each.
Women’s 100m
Known for her fast start, Smartt exploded out of the blocks and maintained her lead on the fast finishing Aniqa Powley to win the100m final. Smartt struck gold in a brisk 12.3s seconds with Powley snatching second spot in 12.5s seconds. Kezia Bess was third in 12.8.
Smartt also placed third in the 200m race to provide valuable points to her club.
She also anchored the PPYC women’s 4x100m team to a second place finish.
Men’s 800m
Bayley (2m:05.8s) sent the large crowd into a frenzy by upsetting race favourite, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ashton Gill (2:07.9s) after turning on the jets in the final 100m to kick clear ahead of the international athlete and GDF’s Wayne Harlequin (2:08.0s).
Women’s 800m and other events
World Championships bound Andrea Foster was also in sublime form during the weekend. Foster, representing GDF, won the female 800m, 1500m and the 3000m.
She was then adjudged the female champion athlete with 30 points.
Her club mates, Cleveland Ford (men’s 1500m and 5000m) and GDF’s Natrena Hooper (200m) were also in the winner’s row.
Major sponsors for the premier track and field event included Digicel, Wartsila, K&B Mining, Sleep In Hotel, NAMILCO and ANSA McAL.
In excess of $2M was shared out to the top four clubs and athletes competing in the international events.
