Ogando, Archibald set to light up Men’s 100m at AP Invitational

…Guyana, Dominican Republic, T&T in 4x100m Relay

The Men’s 100M event at the upcoming Aliann Pompey Invitational meeting is set to be a thriller, with the Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando and Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald being set to headline what is sure to be a nail-biting event on June 22nd at the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC) at Edinburgh, Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD).
With the AP Invitational being staged just eight days before the June 30 qualification deadline set by World Athletics, track and field fans are in for a treat, as each athlete would be aiming to meet the 10-second qualification standard.
The AP Invitational is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour, and its return marks the staging of this dynamic track and field event for the first time since 2019.
Ogando has a personal best time of 10.09 seconds in the 100m event, clocked in 2022. He has not yet competed in the 100m this season, focusing instead on the 200m event, in which he has recorded a time of 20.26 seconds. His 200m personal best is 19.91 seconds, a performance that has earned him gold at the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games and has set a new national record for the Dominican Republic.

The 24-year-old Ogando has also found success in the mixed relays, teaming up with Lidio Andrés Feliz, Marileidy Paulino and Anabel Medina to finish second (3:10.21) at the Tokyo Olympics, behind Poland (3:09.87) and ahead of the USA (3:10.22).
Ogando again linked with Feliz, Paulino and Fiordaliza Cofil to win the 4x400m mixed relay at the 2022 World Championships in a time of 3:09.82, beating the Netherlands (3:09.90) and the USA (3:10.16).
For Archibald, Guyana’s Pan Am Games bronze medallist, the AP Invitational could be a crucial opportunity to achieve direct qualification for the Paris Olympics.
This season, Archibald competed in French Guiana, where he recorded a time of 10.13 seconds to win the men’s 100m event, equalling his personal best.
Also featuring in the men’s 100m at the AP Invitational is St Kitts and Nevis’s former national champion Jason Rogers, who was the starter in his country’s third-place finish in the men’s 4x100m relay at the 2011 World Championships.
Rogers partnered with the legendary Kim Collins, Antoine Adams and Brijesh Lawrence to run 38.49 seconds, but it was the Jamaican quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt that set a (then) world record time of 37.04 seconds to win gold. France finished second with a time of 38.20 seconds.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Kyle Greaux, better known for his 200m ability, will also compete in the 100m. Greaux secured a second-place finish with Trinidad and Tobago in the 4x100m relay finals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where Guyana finished fourth.
He was also part of the T&T 2017 World Relay Championship silver medal team and featured on the team that finished second in the 4x100m relay at the 2019 Pan Am Games.
Akeem Stewart and Arinze Chance are the other Guyanese athletes competing in the 100m at the AP Invitational. The event would also include top Dominican Republic athletes Yohandris Andujar Melbin Marcelino and Carlos Palacios; while Ronal Longa (Colombia) and Alaba Akintola (Nigeria) are also set to compete.
Organiser Aliann Pompey has said she is looking forward to the men’s 100m match-up, especially considering that the women’s event would feature Guyana’s national record holder Jasmine Abrams, Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye, and Namibia’s 100m record holder Beatrice Masilingi.