Guyanese athletes at CARIFTA GAMES 2022: Naris McPherson eyes success at first CARIFTA stint

For middle distance athlete Naris McPherson, the 2022 CARIFTA Games will see her recording her first attendance at this prestigious meet. Her intention, however, is that this won’t be her last attendance, as this 16-year-old has every intention of securing a medal at this event, being held in Kingston, Jamaica from April 16 to 18.

Naris McPherson has said she almost had the scare of her life when she crossed the line in second place in the 800m race at the Athletics Association of Guyana’s (AAG’s) second CARIFTA trials back in February. Although there were more trials to come, McPherson had briefly felt the disappointment of not making the mark. The margin between her time and that of first-place finisher Attoya Harvey was definitely a close one, but for the few moments when she was unaware of the time she had clocked, McPherson’s heart was proverbially ‘on the floor’.
However, her clubmate Harvey soon found out that she had crossed the line in 2:18.06, well below the 2:19.00s CARIFTA qualification mark, thus punching a ticket to the games; and McPherson soon realized that she, too, had come in under the mark, having stopped the clock in 2:18.24 for a ticket to the Games.
Sharing that experience with Guyana Times Sport, McPherson highlighted that her performance was possible through the support she had received.
“I kinda (thought) for a minute that I didn’t qualify, but they put her (Harvey) inside the race to pull me. So, all I had to do was follow her, and if she qualified, I knew I qualified too,” the teenager explained.
She added, “I felt very happy and very good, cause my friends were cheering me, on and they felt happy for me too.”
Reliving the emotions she felt after qualifying, the Running Brave Athletics Club (RBAC) member divulged that going to the CARIFTA Games has been years in the making for her.
“It’s been very, very long. I wanted to go very long, because my friends have qualified, so I wanted to qualify too, to go. So, it’s been very long in the making,” she related to this publication. “It kinda feels good going to represent your country in Jamaica. It really feels good!”
This Stewartville Secondary School student is also preparing to sit CSEC examinations this year. She already has her sights set on winning a medal, and is juggling school and track activities in the meantime.
“It’s kind of in-between, cause I have to study, then I have to go home (and) finish off my SBAs and homework; but I’m managing,” McPherson has said.
Asked what she plans to do in Jamaica, the teenager answered, “To run, stay focused, and bring home the gold medal.”
13 athletes will represent Guyana at the CARIGFTA Games, being held in Jamaica from April 16-18. (Jemima Holmes)