Under 18 and under 20 athletes hoping to secure spots on Guyana’s team to the 46th Flow CARIFTA Games in Curacao over the Easter weekend, will have a final chance to make the qualifying standards tomorrow when the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) stages ‘Classic 2’ at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora.
The athletes are scheduled to get in their blocks from 10:00hrs.
Up to press time last night, the heat sheet, the document that lists the participants, had not been released to the media by the organisers so it was uncertain specifically which of the top junior athletes would be participating.
However, the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and the 1500m will be the marquee events on the track.
According to President of the AAG, Aubrey Hutson, “Senior athletes will compete with the juniors to give them the necessary push.”
So far, 10 athletes have qualified to represent to Golden Arrowhead at the prestigious event which will be hosted in Willemstad from April 15 to 17.
According to IAAF World Athletics Club President, Lamine Diack, CARIFTA is “on par with the World Championships.”
The meet is considered one of the best development meets in world athletics. Having started out on grass tracks, with athletes staying in schools or other similar temporary shelter, the CARIFTA Games have come a long way. College and university coaches and scouts from the United States make their way to the Games each year, in a bid to identify up-and-coming talent.
CARIFTA runs entirely under IAAF rules and has produced World Record holders, Usain Bolt, Darrel Brown, World and Olympic Champions such as Veronica Campbell-Brown of Jamaica, Kim Collins of St Kitts-Nevis and Pauline Davis-Thompson of the Bahamas, Alleyne Francique of Grenada and Obadele Thompson of Barbados.
