The highlight for track and field in 2013 was Guyana’s record medal haul of six at the region’s most prestigious junior competition, The CARIFTA Games, at the end of March, which marked a significant moment, amid poor facilities, for the sport.
The six medal haul from eight athletes in the Bahamas, during March 29-April 1, namely Cassey George, who won gold and silver in two races; Jevina Straker, who won her third CARIFTA gold medal; United States-based, Kadecia Baird, who won bronze, Jason Yaw (bronze) and Tirana Mitchell (bronze), was the most for any Guyanese contingent.
The other athletes on the team were US-based Ashley Tasher, Alita Moore and Avon Samuels, who are all extremely talented athletes.
The performances were a good way to get Guyana’s athletics back on track following a controversial election of a new Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) administration earlier last year that threatened to destabilise the sport.
But the AAG 2013 programme continued with the National Youth and Junior Championships. However, the Senior Championships and Digicel-sponsored Under-23 Championships, which were part of the association’s previous calendar, did not occur last year.
July was the busiest month for the association internationally with three different national teams attending three varying competitions; Mitchell and Yaw competed at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Youth Championships in Ukraine, July 10-14, while Baird, Winston George and Adam Harris went to the Central American and Caribbean Championships, July 5-7; during that same period, Jeremy Bascom, Stephan James and Leslain Baird competed at the South American Senior Championships in Columbia with James earning a 400m bronze medal.
Meanwhile, in August, Baird, George and Harris also represented Guyana at the IAAF World Championships in Russia. Also in August, the fourth edition of the annual Boyce/Jefford Track and Field Classic was held in Linden where a new team, Running Braves Athletics Club, was declared champions, dethroning Police Progressive Youth Club.
Guyana’s distance athletes enjoyed another good season when the Ainlim and Courts 10km races returned last year with Cleveland Forde and Alika Morgan continuing their reign. Forde also won the South American 10km Road Race Classic, which was held on a new route, finishing in the National Park. Morgan was second among the women.
Overseas, Guyana’s Lionel D’Andrade and Kelvin Johnson extended their distance dominance in the Twin Island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. D’Andrade also won the Suriname Marathon with Morgan second among the females.
Guyana was also represented at the South American Youth Games in Peru in October with Yaw, Mitchell, Andrea Foster and Dequan Vancooten comprising the team. Many talented athletes and new stars were also born at The National Schools’ Championships in November.
The Guyana Police Force re-arrested the Inter-Services Annual Athletic Championship (ISAAC) title from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) after three years. The Police had last won in 2010 with GDF winning in 2011 before a historic tie enforced a deadlock among the armed forces for the coveted trophy.
Another high point for athletics ensued when four of Guyana’s most-talented junior track and field prospects, Straker, James, Moore and Chavez Ageday were given Athletics Scholarship for ASA College, New York, United States of America.
Guyanese athletes continued to do well locally and internationally last year even in the absence of a synthetic track and field facility. The last official update on the track was that the rubberised material is being laid on the asphalt before the lanes are sprayed on. German-based company, BSW Regupol was overseeing that phase.
The track, which commenced construction in 2010 had a number of delays and setbacks over the years and is expected to cost some US$5M to complete the entire facility. No new timeline for its completion was given at the last official update.