Guyana’s record holder in the men’s javelin throw, Leslain Baird, along with rising sprint stars Tiana Springer and Noelex Holder, were among the winners yesterday at the National Track & Field Centre (NTFC) in Edinburgh on the West Coast of Demerara.
Competing in the Athletics Association of Guyana’s (AAG) first of two ‘Developmental Meets’ planned for the first part of 2024, Guyana’s young athletes all got much-needed competitive action in ‘odd events’ in the blistering heat.
Springer, who had a medal-laden 2023 season both on the local and international scene, competed in the female U20 300M and 150M events, taking first place in the former and second place in the latter.
Springer showed her class in the 300m with a 38.8s run to first place, well ahead of Narissa McPherson (39.7s) and Nalicia Glen (42.1s), who crossed the finish line in second and third, respectively. However, in the 150-metre race, Glen got the better of Springer, stopping the clock at 16.08s, while the latter settled for second in 17.10s, and Tamara Harvey closed out the top three with a time of 18.10s.
Holder also had mixed results in his male 20+ 60M, 150M, and 300M events.
In the 60M, Keiron De Souza of the Police Progressive Youth Club stormed to 6.59s, leaving Akeem Stewart (GDF) and Holder (also of Police) behind. Stewart clinched second with 6.78s, while Holder settled for third with 6.95s.
In the 150M, Holder took revenge on his club-mate, beating him convincingly with a time of 14.8s, while De Souza took second this time around in 15.20s, with Osrick Pellew (15.7s) claiming third place.
De Souza ended his outing with another win, this time in the 300-metre event, crossing the finish line in 34.9 seconds ahead of Holder (35.2 seconds) and Lennox Douglas (35.6 seconds), who finished second and third in that order.
Meanwhile, Baird, who is in preparation mode with his goal of reaching Paris later this year for the Olympic Games, had no competition in the male 20+ javelin throw. He was nowhere close to his best form, with a longest throw of 70.77 m to win that event. Kleon Spellen was a distant second with a best effort of 55.78 m, while Joshua Tappin followed closely with 54.73 m for third place.
In the field events, Amrist Hector (5.33M) won the Girls U20 Long Jump, while Kenetha Fraser took first place in the Girls U17 category.
Yohance Bourne ruled the roost in the boys U20 long jump with a best leap of 6.54 m, as Duel Europe (7.14 m) took first place in the U17 category.
The meet, which is one of two planned for January, is part of the AAG’s stringent preparation period ahead of the Junior CARIFTA Games slated for March 28–April 1 later this year.
The second developmental meet is slated for the same venue next Sunday (January 21), which will be followed by four CARIFTA Games trials scheduled for January 28, February 4, 17, and 18. After those trials, there will be a further meet dubbed ‘CARIFTA vs. The Rest’, which is slated for March 2 and 3.
Athletes selected for the CARIFTA Games contingent will then participate in two ‘CARIFTA Games’ camps. The camps are slated for March 9–10 and March 16–17 at a location to be announced.
According to the AAG, this year they will be looking to send one of the “largest contingents, comprising 35 members,” to this year’s CARIFTA Games, which are being hosted by Grenada. (Michelangelo Jacobus)
