There was excitement galore at the National Track and Field Center (NTFC), West Coast Demerara (WCD) on Saturday evening as the Aliann Pompey Invitational returned with a bang after a lengthy hiatus.
Guyana’s Aiyah Abrams outran the stacked field of competition to come away with gold in the women’s 400m event, in a time of 52.00s. The all-Guyanese podium saw Kenisha Phillips clinching silver in 52.86s, while junior athlete Tianna Springer crossed the line third in 52.91s.
Deshana Skeete (left) surpassed her competitors in the women’s 200m
In the men’s version of the event, the Dominican Republic’s Lidio Feliz came out on top, stopping the clock at 46.02s for first place, while USA’s Evan Mafilas was second in 46.39s. The third position went to another athlete hailing from the Dominican Republic, Nefer Santana, who clocked 46.5s while Guyanese Revon Williams narrowly missed out on the podium, clocking 46.98s for fourth place.
In the highly-anticipated 100m sprint, Ghana’s Joseph Amoah stopped the clock in 10.35s for first place while Guyanese record holder Emanuel Archibald was close behind for second in 10.37s. The Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando completed the podium in 10.41s.
Leslain Baird threw over 73 metres for gold in the javelin
In the distaff, Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle Lee-Ahye crossed the finish line in 11.49s for first place while Guyanese Olympic hopeful Jasmine Abrams stopped the clock in 11.53s for second place. Another Guyanese, Keliza Smith was third in 11.55s.
In another sprint event, this time the 200m, 100m winner Lee-Ahye was pipped by Guyana’s Deshana Skeete who crossed the line in 23.64s for the gold medal. Lee-Ahye had to settle for silver in 20.86s while Dominican Republic’s Milagros Duran clinched bronze in 24.29s. Junior athlete Narissa McPherson was just behind the top trio, in 24.56s for fourth.
Emanuel Archibald bagged another long jump gold medal
The men’s version of the event saw St Kitts and Nevis’ Nadale Buntin coming out on top in 20.862s. Ghana’s Amoah narrowly missed out on the sprint double, stopping the clock at 20.864s for second place while Guyana’s Shamar Horatio was second in 20.88s.
Over in the long jump pit, Archibald continued his dominance in the event. After missing out on his initial jumps, Archibald leapt 7.67m for first place, followed by the Bahamas’ Laquan Nairn who jumped 7.58m for second place. In third was Australia’s Henry Frayne, who leapt 7.50m.
In the distaff, Guyana’s Analissa Redmond claimed gold with a jump spanning 6.05m. In the all-Guyanese podium, Leoni Adams finished second with a jump of 5.28m while Shaneka Campbell secured third with a leap of 5.24m.
Also in field events, Guyana’s record holder Leslain Baird flighted the javelin 73.79m for the gold medal. The lone Trinidadian in the field, Anthony Diaz threw 68.52m for second place while young Gabriel Lim clinched third with a throw of 64.22m.
While no competitors reached their intended qualifying standards for the Paris Olympics 2024, the event, supported by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and a line-up of corporate sponsors was deemed a success.
