Sprinters Emmanuel Archibald and Jasmine Abrams were crowned the 2023 sportsman and sportswoman of the year as the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) dominated the honours when the Ministry of Culture, Youth, and Sport/National Sports Commission held its annual awards ceremony last night at Castellani House.
Archibald, who is also a long jumper, won bronze in the men’s 100m final at the 2023 Pan-American Games in Santiago in a time of 10.31 seconds, while his personal best 100m time of 10.13 seconds was achieved in August 2023 in Budapest.
Abrams won silver at the 2023 Pan-American Games in the 100m in a time of 11.52 seconds, joining June Marcia Griffith and Marian Burnett as female Guyanese athletes who have won silver medals at the games.
Powerlifter Dominic Tyrell took the runner-up spot behind Archibald, while chess player Jessica Callendar took the runner-up sportswoman of the year prize.
Swimmer Raekwon Noel was rewarded for an outstanding performance as he won the junior sportsman of the year award ahead of sprinter Malachi Austin.
Noel claimed the award after a phenomenal 2023 season, winning five gold medals at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships in Curacao. Noel’s time of 16:17.92 seconds was a new personal best in the boy’s 15-17 1500m freestyle.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Youth Games 400m gold medallist Tianna Springer captured the junior sportswoman of the year title, while chess player Kataleya Sam took the runner-up prize.
Springer romped to a historic gold medal triumph in a time of 53.55 seconds at the 2023 games at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Trinidad, handing Guyana its first ever gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games. Springer also won gold at the CARIFTA Games and the South American Under-20 Championship.
The Commonwealth Youth Games 4×400 Mixed Relay team, consisting of Austin, Narissa McPherson, Javon Roberts, and Springer, was rewarded for smashing the Commonwealth Youth Games record on their way to gold as they won the team of the year award.
Mark Scott (Athletics) won the male coach of the year accolade, while the female sports official of the year was also won by the AAG in the form of Kenisha Headly.
The dominance of their individual athletes and officials led to the AAG claiming the Association of the Year prize.
Former West Indies female player Tremayne Smartt took the female coach of the year prize. The sportsman of the year award for a person with disability (PWD) went to Uttamkumar Issurdeen (Athletics), and the sportswoman of the year title was taken by Anaya Lall (Chess).
Trophy Stall took the award for small corporate sponsor of the year, while MVP Sports won the medium corporate sponsor of the year prize. E Net received the large corporate sponsor of the year accolade.
The male sports official of the year prize was taken by former West Indies fast bowler and current ICC match referee Reon King.
Jemima Holmes (print) of the Guyana Times, Akeem Green (non-print), and Avenash Ramzan (broadcast) of News Room won the sports journalist of the year accolades in their respective categories.
Speaking at the ceremony, Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport Charles Ramson said that the government wants to see the athletes be amongst the best in the world.
“We firmly believe that with the continued right environment and investment, there is a lot that can be achieved for Guyana and Guyanese athletes”, he added.
“What you are going to celebrate this evening is your hard work, where Guyana was able to recognise all of the effort that you have put into becoming the best you can be. It is always a competition, and that is how you promote your capabilities. We wanted to make sure that the recognition is done in a special way”, Ramson added.
The minister told the gathering that they were able to secure full-time scholarships for a number of athletes and coaches in India.
Long-serving sports editors, Donald Duff and Claude David, were recognised for their contributions to the fraternity.