Anisha Gibbons created history yesterday by becoming the first Guyanese to record back-to-back gold medal performances in the javelin at the CARIFTA Games.
Gibbons, made hay in the brilliant sunshine here at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, throwing the spear 42.54 metres to add another gold medal to her collection.
The 17 year-old who was the first local female in history to earn gold in the javelin (at the last CARIFTA Games staged in 2019 in the Cayman Islands), proved once again she is the best teen thrower in the Region.
Gibbon’s heroics relegated a pair of Barbadians, Vivica Addison (41.92m) and Vanessa Greaves (41.17m) to silver and bronze.
Meanwhile, Attoya Harvey continued her medal haul of the 49th edition of the annual Games, striding to second in the 3000m U-20 to bring Guyana’s current medal count (two gold and three silver) to five.
After emphatically winning the 1500m in wire-to-wire fashion on opening day, the 16 year-old returned to the track albeit out of her category to snare silver in the seven and a half lap event in 10:51.40 behind Jamaica’s Samantha Pryce (10:40.07).
Ashara Frater, also of Jamaica copped the bronze in 11:03.76.
There was no Girls 3000m U-17 event.
Elsewhere on the track, Keliza Smith who finished just off the podium in the marquee 100m final, raced to second in the 200m semis in 24.34s to advance to today’s final as the fourth fastest qualifier.
Her counterparts, Shemar Horatio and Ezekiel Newton clocked 21.83s and 22.28s in the half lap heats.
While Horatio qualified for the semi-final, finishing sixth in 21.75s in that round, Newton’s timing was not enough to get him past the first round.
In the pit, local duo, Wesley Tyndall (7.12m) and Trevon Hamer (6.63m) finished seventh and 11th respectively in the boys U-20 long jump event which was won by Jamaica’s Jaydon Hibbert in 7.62m.
Before the curtains come down on this year’s showpiece tonight, Harvey, will be hunting another gold when she competes in the 800m. She qualified with the fastest time (2:15.76) yesterday.
