Remarkable displays of speed, strength, stamina and leaping ability, enabled Team Guyana to retain the Inter Guiana Games Track and Field championship last evening at the National Track and Field Centre.
The locals ended the two-day championships with 373 points, 120 points ahead of their Surinamese counterparts.
Track and field standouts, Compton Caesar, Kenisha Phillips, Chantoba Bright and Odwin Tudor did their part to ensure that the trophy remained in the Land of Many Waters.
Here are a few highlights
Boys 200m
Caesar, who won the marquee 100m on Friday, recorded a sprint double with relative ease after coming off the curve with a two-metre lead on teammate, Tyrell Peters. The explosive Lindener went on to win the half lap event in a brisk 21.70s. Peters snared the silver in 22.28s while Suriname’s Miguel Shepper placed third in 22.54.
Shepper’s countryman, Ifmorel Asanatiba brought up the rear in 23.38s.
Girls 200m
Sprint prodigy Phillips showed her class by also recording a sprint double after emphatically winning the girls 100m final.
Phillips, who had a huge cushion coming off the turn, opened up her lead with every powerful turn over on the straight to strike gold in an eye popping 24.93s.
Deshana Skeete who placed second to the dominant Phillips in the 100m earned another silver in 25.74s.
The duo of Surinamese, Sabrina Menso and Brionny Arrias were further back, finishing the event in 27.02s and 29.05s respectively.
Girls long jump
Bright shone the brightest under the floodlit venue and showed why she was also to leap to two CARIFTA Games silver medals during the Easter weekend this year.
She comfortably won the girl’s long jump (5.77m) ahead of her teammate, Kelanie Girffith (5.25m) and Surinamese, Aselie Rode (4.99m) and Zoiny Nelson (4.74m).
Boys 5000m
Tudor was also in sublime form and picked up where he left off on Friday. One day after comfortably winning the 1500m final, Tudor returned to the track and struck gold in the longest event of the meet. He won the 5000m final in 16m:01.56s. Guyana’s Delroy Leitch was second in 16m:56.85s while his Surinamese foes Gilberto Aloeboetoe and Paulus Pinas ran completed the 24 and a half laps in 17m:23.12s and 17m:55.20s.
Boys and Girls 800m
Guyana’s Joanna Archer and Anfernee Headecker ensured Guyana won all of the track events on day two by winning their respective 800m races.
The three-day Goodwill Games which saw the two nations competing in seven disciplines, concludes tonight at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The closing ceremony starts at 20:00hrs. (Emmerson Campbell)
