52nd CARIFTA Track and Field Championships: Springer strikes gold as Guyana bags 3 medals on Day 1

Guyana’s Golden Girl Tianna Springer has fittingly been the first to strike gold for the Land of Many Waters on Saturday, during the opening day of the 52nd CARIFTA Track and Field Championships.

Springer was the fastest qualifier in the preliminaries on Saturday morning, and retained her calm and composure in the buzzing Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, to secure the top spot in the Girls U20 400M final.
She clocked 53.7s to clinch her third consecutive gold medal at the Games, while Kadia Rock of Barbados was second in 53.52s and Jamaica’s Abrina Wright was third in 53.78s.
In the male version of the event, Malachi Austin missed out on retaining his title by three-hundredths of a second. He stopped the clock at 46.54s after pulling off a massive comeback in the last 50M of the race to catch Zion Miller of the Bahamas on the line. However, Miller clocked 46.51s for first place, while Trinidad and Tobago’s DA Shaun Lezama completed the podium in 47.43s.
Guyanese Kaidon Persaud, who also competed in that race, hit 48.26s for fifth place after a lightning-fast start.

Attoya Harvey captured Guyana’s third medal of the day when she finished third in the Girls U20 1500M event. Harvey crossed the line in 4:41.61s for third place in a race that was won by Jamaica’s Cindy Rose in 4:37.95. Rose’s teammate Sushana Johnson finished in 4:40.83 to facilitate Jamaica taking home the gold and silver.
Unfortunately for Team Guyana, the medal count on Day 1 ended at 3, as the sprinters did not find similar favour on the track.
Last year’s U17 gold medalist Athaleyha Hinckson had to settle for a fourth-place finish in her U20 100M debut. Hinckson clocked 11.70s, while Shanoya Douglas of Jamaica struck gold in 11.45s. Shatalya Dorset of Bahamas was second in 11.50s, and Antigua’s Geolyna Dowdye was third in 11.55s.
In the Boys’ U17 event, Ezekiel Millington stopped the clock at 10.76s for fifth place in a race won by Jamaica’s Michael Graham in 10.53s.
Earlier in the day, Guyana’s first-ever Decathlon athlete, Gabriel Ethan Cort, got the Land of Many Waters off to a winning start with an 11.40s run in the 100M component of the event. Then defending champion Tianna Springer sealed her spot in the Under-20 400M final by clocking 53.19s in Heat 2. However, her compatriot Narissa McPherson missed out on the final, clocking 55.89s in Heat 1.
Malachi Austin had also moved on to the U20 400M final by stopping the clock at 47.07s for second place in Heat 3. Joining Austin in the final was Persaud, who clocked 48.39s for second in Heat 2.
Last year’s U17 100M girls Champion Athaleyha Hinckson hit 11.70s for first place in Heat 3. In addition, Ezekiel Millington posted 10.73s for first place in Heat 3 to ensure he would compete in the Boys’ 100M U17 final.
The CARIFTA Games will continue until Monday, April 21, and Guyana has a 42- member contingent at the Games.