Springer happy to “put Guyana on the map” once again

As one would expect, Tianna Springer added some hardware to her personal collection, grabbing a bronze medal at this year’s World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Oregon, USA which concluded on Sunday evening.
Springer crossed the line in 51.76s on Friday night for bronze in the women’s 400m event, claiming Guyana’s first and only medal at this year’s championships and Guyana’s second overall.
Poland’s Anastazja Kus claimed the gold in 51.06s, followed by USA’s Ataja Stephane-Vazquez, who took home silver in 51.36s.
In a post- race interview, the Guyanese track star expressed her satisfaction with her achievement and shared how she was able to get her mind ‘race- ready’.
Springer told “Making of Champions” online platform, “I was just like, talking to myself, ‘Tianna, you got this, you trained for it, Coach believes in me, everybody believes in me, so, I got to go out there and show them who I am’, but I was still having the slight doubts that I’m not going to get the results I’m looking for, but at least I came this far, I’m still thankful. So, I’m glad with my performance.

“I have a really strong finish, I know that for sure, but I don’t know what’s going on for me, to be honest, but my coach told me ‘just ignore the pain, push through’ and I’ll be grateful with the result after. I can’t say I’m disappointed that much, but I’m still glad,” she added.
Quizzed about bringing home Guyana’s second medal in the Championships’ history, after Kadecia Baird’s silver back in 2012 in Spain, Springer was happy to put the spotlight on the country of her birth.
She stated, “I’m glad Guyana got to be back there on the map, because I can’t remember when they got a world’s medal in the 400. I’m so glad I got to bring it up back again, so, everybody would notice Guyana once again, put us back on the map.”

Detailing what her next few months and weeks will entail after becoming a World U20 medallist, Springer divulged, “I’m going to take a break when I go back there, I’ve had a really long season, but I’m not going to take too much of a break because I’ve still got to come back next year. I have senior games next year since this is my last Under-20. So, hopefully I get the results I’m looking for.”
Springer has been dominant on the international stage in her pet event, the 400m, bagging gold at the CARIFTA Games from 2023 through 2026. She also copped gold at the South American U20 Games in 2023, resetting that record. She went on to grab gold at the Commonwealth Youth Games a few months later. Additionally, the star runner has also been an integral part of Guyana’s U20 Mixed 4x400m relay team that have won gold and reset records at both the Commonwealth Youth Games and CARIFTA Games over the past few years.