After becoming Guyana’s second fastest man of all time during the Velocity Fest meet last weekend at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica, Emanuel Archibald has his sights set on stepping onto the podium at international events this season.
Winning his heat in the ‘timed finals’, Archibald clocked a personal best 10.18s during the World Athletics Continental Tour Challenger Series meet.
It was the third fastest timing of the meet in the blue riband 100m behind a pair of Jamaicans, Akeem Blake (10.08s) and Yohan Blake (10.11s) and the second best all-time for a local sprinter.
Adam Harris holds the national record of 10.12s while James Wren-Gilkes and Jeremy Bascom previously occupied the joint second spot with runs of 10.19s.
Running that fast this early in the season has the Jamaica-based Tokyo Olympian aspiring for sub-10 and medal earning performances at global meets.
The 27-year-old, who trains with the Ricketts Performance Club in Kingston, told this publication yesterday that “Running a PR so early was the goal, as we are on a programme to do so.”
The South American Championships silver and bronze medalist added: “This just sets me up and shows that I’ll be faster later in the season moving forward.”
Touching on his goals for the 2022 season Archibald, who holds the national long jump record stated, “The goals remains the same, to qualify for the World Championship and the rest of the recognized games this season, as well as making each and every finals to give myself a chance to medal.”
With the World Athletics Championships 2022 starting on July 15 in Eugene, Oregon, USA, the upcoming weeks promise a lot of excitement in track and field. The qualifying time for the marquee 100m event is 10.05s. Archibald plans to earn his spot at the championships before the qualifying window shuts in June.
