Commonwealth Games 2022: Archibald, Abrams shine on Day 1 of track and field competition

The pair of Emanuel Archibald and Jasmine Abrams made a strong case for Guyana on the track on Monday, when track and field action commenced in the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022.

These two Guyanese athletes were joined on the track by Noelex Holder and Akeem Stewart for the first round of the Men’s and Women’s 100M event at the Alexander Stadium in Birmingham, England.

Prior to the races, Archibald arrived at the Long Jump area for the first round of qualifying. Drafted in Group B, Archibald’s recorded leaps were 7.59M, 7.63M and a best jump of 7.83M to finish atop the group, which boasted jumpers from New Zealand, India, Botswana, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago, among others. As such, the Guyanese secured a place in the Long Jump final at the 2022 Games.
Holder was the first to take to the track in Guyana’s all-black uniform outfitted with the Golden Arrowhead.
Competing in Heat 5 of 10, Holder sprinted across the line in 10.50s for 4th place in the Heat. And Akeem Stewart, competing in Heat 9, clocked 10.46s for fourth place in that race. However, the times and positioning of either of these athletes was not good enough to punch them a ticket to the 100m semifinal.
Following his success in the long jump pit, Archibald headed over to the track for Heat 10 of the 100M qualifying, and clocked 10.28s, second only to Jerod Elcock of Trinidad and Tobago, who finished in 10.26s.
“It was pretty easy. The goal was just to qualify for the Long Jump finals, and then a big Q for the 100M,” Archibald said about being in back-to-back events on Tuesday. He added, “For the season, I’ve been preparing for it, so it’s not really hard. I just come out here with the same mindset as I’ve been running this season, and do the same thing I’ve been doing all year.”
Jasmine Abrams was Guyana’s second qualifier of the day. She finished third in Heat 4 of the Women’s 100M event, stopping the clock at 11.41s, behind Nigeria’s Rosemary Chukwuma (11.02s) and Botswana’s Oarabile Tshosa (11.40s).
“It feels amazing! I went into it wanting to go to the semifinals, so being able to accomplish that at one of the many games I’ve been to is very honourable, and I’m so grateful,” Abrams said in wake of her semifinal qualification.
Quizzed about what she would be working on for the next round, the sprinter shared, “Go back, talk to my coach, see what I could do different. I was told that I’m not lifting my legs, so I need to make sure tomorrow in semis I’m picking up my foot and dropping it down and bringing up my knee in front of me. So, main goal tomorrow is (to) make sure I’m making it through the round,” she added.
Archibald and Abrams are both moving on to the semifinal of the sprint event, which will take centre stage today.
Also in action for Guyana in the track events was Joana Archer, contesting the Women’s 800m Round 1. Archer clocked 2:7.24 in finishing 7th in Heat One, but her time was not good enough for an automatic qualification.
While Abrams and Archibald head into the semifinals today, another group of Guyanese Athletes, some debutants, will get their Commonwealth Games 2022 campaign going. Aliyah Abrams will make a play in the 400m event, while Arinze Chance takes to the track for the male version of the event. Quamel Prince will also lace up his shoes for the 800m event.
Aside from athletics, today will be a busy one for other members of the Guyanese contingent. Table Tennis, Boxing and Badminton are all scheduled for events.
Chelsea Edghill, Nathalie Cummings, Priscilla Greaves, Shemar Britton and Johnathan Van Lange are scheduled to battle in the Table Tennis Men’s and Women’s Singles. The players have been placed in groups of three. In group 1 of the Women’s Singles will be Edghill, a Tokyo 2020 Olympian, while Greaves dukes it out in Group 9 and Cummings in Group 13.
Britton has been drafted in Group 1 of the Men’s Singles, with Van Lange competing in Group 2.
Narayan and Priyanna Ramdhani will begin their first major Badminton campaign in the absence of their father, Gokarn Ramdhani, in the Mixed Doubles event. They will come up against the Ugandan team in the Round of 64.
Meanwhile, Priyanna will go it alone in the Women’s Singles Round of 64 against Pakistan’s Mahoor Shahzad.
And Keevin Allicock and Desmond Amsterdam will fight for a chance to grab medals in their respective weight classes in boxing. In the Featherweight quarterfinals, Allicock will trade punches with Canada’s Keoma-Ali Al-Ahmadieh, while Amsterdam goes into battle against Australia’s Callum Peters in the Middleweight quarterfinals.