Guyana open IGG athletics title defence with 9 gold medals

Guyana won nine gold medals on the opening day of athletics at the 2026 Inter Guiana Games (IGG) in Paramaribo, Suriname, as the defending champions made a strong start to their bid to retain the trophy.
Five victories on the track and four in the field, including a shared long jump gold, highlighted a productive day for the Guyanese team, which also secured several one-two finishes.
Adanya Glen led the way in the Girls’ 1500 metres, winning in 5:28.34 ahead of teammate Kunisasha Medas-King, who finished in 5:50.07.

Tesianna Harris and Tierra Lekha followed with another Guyanese one-two in the Girls’ 100m. Harris took gold in 12.70 seconds, while Lekha earned silver in 13.10 seconds. Ezekiel Millington won the Boys’ 100m in 11.28 seconds, with Malique Kendall placing fourth in 12.06 seconds.
Guyana also claimed the top two positions in both 400m races. Alyse Jacobs won the Girls’ event in 1:01.81, followed by Ronessa Johnson in 1:03.92. Ade Sealey took the boys’ title in 53.36 seconds, ahead of Alvin Richmond’s 54.03 seconds.
In the Boys’ 1500m, Jadel Liverpool earned silver in 4:46.43 behind French Guiana’s Aymen Cogniin, who won in 4:36.84. Guyana’s Ebo McNeil finished fifth in 5:16.17.
Esther Blair and Russheeda Hartley each collected two medals in the field events. Blair shared the girls’ long jump gold with French Guiana’s Janaika Ringuet after both recorded 5.00m, while Hartley took bronze with 4.88m.
The Guyanese pair then shared second place in the girls’ high jump, both clearing 1.38m.

David Williams added the boys’ long jump gold with a leap of 6.86m, while teammate Micheal Kyte secured bronze with 6.05m.
Further success came in the shot put, where Nathalie Sameroo won the boys’ event with 13.43m, and Jordan Dos Santos completed another Guyanese one-two with 10.47m.
Tasianna Benjamin won the girls’ shot put with a throw of 9.60m, while Shanea Moore placed third with 8.33m.
The results gave Guyana a strong opening platform, with further events still to come in their pursuit of another IGG athletics title.