It was chaos at the finish line in the National Park, Georgetown on Sunday afternoon as Devaun “Scooby” Barrington crossed the finish line first in the Open race of the Jefford’s Classic Mile.
Barrington clocked 4 minutes 20 seconds for first place, having last won the mile back in 2012. The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) athlete, overwhelmed by cheers of support, finished ahead of clubmate Marlon Nicholson (4 minutes 23s) and Police Progressive Youth Club’s (PPYC’s) Cleveland Thomas (4 minutes 26s), who took second and third respectively.
Sportsman of the Year Desmond Amsterdam (white shirt) got in on the athletics action in the open race
Following the race, Barrington shared that he was prepared for the challenge and stuck to his game plan.
“Everybody who knows me and was following athletics in the whole in Guyana, knows that I’m an athlete who, for some reason, can’t stay healthy and injury-free, but God has been good to me. I’ve been able to train from November to now, so I know coming into this race, I was mentally, physically and spiritually where I needed to be,” an overjoyed Barrington shared.
He added, “I knew in this race all I had to do was to bear the pace up front and wait for the last 200. I stuck to the plan, executed well, and came out victorious today.”
In the distaff, youth sensation Attoya Harvey stamped her authority with a 5-minute 31s finish for first place. The Running Brave athlete came in ahead of Police’s Jelesa Wright, who crossed the line in 5 minutes 54s and Delicia Tinnis (PPYC) who took third in 6 minutes 57s.
Attoya Harvey crosses the finish line to win the female open category
In the 18-19 category, Odida Parkinson dominated the field of competitors, finishing in 4 minutes 38s. Second and third in that race went to Samuel Henry and Akandy Van Maalson, who clocked 4 minutes 39.1s and 4 minutes 39.4s respectively.
Tiana Springer was the female 18-19 winner, in 5 minutes 54s, while Teresha Baynes and Rosemond Harvey completed the podium with times of 6 minutes 15s and 6 minutes 44s respectively.
Meanwhile, Javon Roberts was the 16-17 male winner in 4 minutes 40.1s. Trailing Roberts were Jamol Sullivan (4 minutes 40.9s) and Lestron Lovell (4 minutes 47s).
Devaun “Scooby” Barrington crosses the finish line amid cheers from supporters
For the Under-14 athletes, Ester McKinnon was the female winner, clocking 5 minutes 41s for the victory, while Kaymayara Lacon took second in 6 minutes and Joanna Antwon, third, in 6 minutes 17s.
Ebo McNeil was the male winner, stopping the clock in 5 minutes 8s. Paul Clarence came in second in 5 minutes 17s and Shaquan Sheperd was third in 5 minutes 20s.
