Team Guyana’s athletes punctuated this year’s Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad last night with a bang, rocketing to a gold medal and the meet record in the mixed 4x400m relay event.
The quartet of Tianna Springer, Javon Roberts, Narissa McPherson and Malachi Austin set the track at the Hasely Crawford stadium on fire as they scorched the competition en route to writing their names in the record books.
Anchored by Springer, the women’s 400m gold medalist at the meet, the athletes proudly clad in the national colours, crossed the line in 3:22.07s to secure the coveted gold medal.
In 2017, Australia established a new record of three minutes and 25.08 seconds in the Mixed 4x400m relay.
England (3:22.29), narrowly trailing behind Guyana, also surpassed Australia’s 2017 record time, while Nigeria, victorious in the 4x100m mixed relay, secured the bronze in the 4x400m mixed relay finals.
The top of the podium performance by the teen track stars, brought Guyana’s overall tally to four at the seventh edition of the Games which started a week ago. The sojourn was no doubt highlighted by Springer’s heroics in the individual 400m event, the first gold medal for Guyana at the Games.
Austin, snared a silver in the men’s 400m final with a personal best of 49.97s, while McPherson copped bronze in the women’s 400m in a respectable 54.82s.
Springer was disqualified due to a false start yesterday in the women’s 200m final. Attoya Harvey and Roberts were not as fortunate as they both failed to clinch podium spots in their respective 800m and 1500m races.
Harvey’s personal best time of 4:45.10 in the women’s 1500m finals placed her in 11th. Roberts, this year’s 800m CARIFTA Games gold medalist, with a personal best time of 1:55.69 in the two-lap event was only good for a fifth place in the qualifying rounds.
The track and field athletes showing in Trinidad and Tobago, pushed Guyana’s overall medal count to seven throughout the history of the Commonwealth Youth Games, dating back to the inaugural edition in 2000.
Notes: In 2008, the Games in India saw boxer Clevon Rock facing a defeat against England’s John Quigley in the Men’s Bantamweight final.
In 2015, in Apia, Samoa, Larissa Wiltshire and Taylor Fernandes-Henry secured a bronze in the Squash women’s doubles. The 2017 Games in The Bahamas witnessed Allicock’s participation in the men’s flyweight final, marked by a controversial outcome against England’s Eithan James.
Notably, boxing and squash were not included in the 2023 Games held in Trinidad and Tobago.
In the Twin Island Republic, Guyana was also represented by swimmers, Ariel Rodrigues, Elliott Gonsalves, and Shareefah Lewis.
