Rocky start for Guyana at World Athletics U20 Championships
In what has not been the best of opening days for the Guyana under-20 team competing at the World Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, Monday’s events have resulted in no one from the Guyanese contingent progressing to the next stage.
Guyana, Youth Commonwealth Games record holders and South American Games champions, missed out on a spot in the 4x400M final after stopping the clock at 3 minutes, 26.06s in Heat 3 of the Mixed Relay event. The team of Enoch Munroe, Tianna Springer, Narissa McPherson and Dh Neilson Gill finished 6th in that Heat, which was won by the Polish team in a season’s best time of 3:21.92.
In the male and female 100M events, the Guyanese team again experienced misfortune, as Ezekiel Newton missed out on a spot in the semifinals after clocking 10.80s for sixth place in Heat 5, and Jackson Clarke clocked 10.68s for fifth place in Heat 7 of the same event. The race involving Newton was won by Jamaica’s Gary Card in 10.40s, while the race involving Clarke was dominated by South Africa’s Bradley Nkoana in 10.27s.
A 10-athlete Guyanese team has been named for the World Athletics U20 Championships
The 16-year-old Guyanese athlete Athaleyha Hinckson also failed to progress to the semifinal round of the 100M event, after clocking 12.01s for sixth place in Heat 1, which was won by Adaejah Hodge of the British Virgin Islands in a time of 11.45s. Hodge has just recently competed at the Paris Olympic Games.
The Guyanese team will today look to turn their fortunes around when Narissa McPherson and Tianna Springer suit up for the preliminary round of the Women’s 400M event. The duo will compete in Heat 2 and 5 respectively, and South American and CARIFTA Games Champion Malachi Austin will compete in Heat 5 of the male version of this event.
Guyana is being represented at this premier under-20 athletics event by a 10-member team comprising Tianna Springer, Narissa McPherson, Athaleyha Hinckson, Nalicia Glen, Malachi Austin, Dh Neilson Gill, Enoch Munroe, Ezekiel Newton, Jackson Clarke and Kaidon Persaud. The team is being managed by Sheryl Hermonstine and coached by Julian Edmonson, and Aretha Legall is the physiotherapist.
