-Harris knocked out of 200m in first round
Adam Harris failed to advance in the men’s 200m yesterday when he clocked 21.36s and placed sixth in the first round to end Guyana’s quest for an Olympic medal at the 29th Olympiad in Beijing, China.
Noel Adonis
Harris, a second generation Guyanese and senior at the University of Michigan, could not reproduce his personal record of 20.75s which he clocked in May this year to qualify for the event.
Running out of lane three, the 21-year-old Harris reacted fastest to the pistol (0.162) but was only able to beat two of the eight competitors. According to the official website for the Olympic Games (http://results.beijing2008.cn), the heat was won by defending Olympic champion in the event Shawn Crawford of the U.S. who clocked 20.61s.
Marcin Jedrusinski of Poland (20.64s), Stephon Buckland of Mauritius (20.98s), and Jiri Vojtik of the Czeck Republic (21.05s) and Kenosi Fanuel of Botswana (21.09s) all reached the line before Guyana’s only track athlete to qualify for this year’s Olympics.
Guyana’s chef de mission Noel Adonis told Stabroek Sport via email, “the quest by the Guyana team for Olympics glory at the XXIX Olympiad currently being held in Beijing, China, came to an end earlier today when Adam Harris, the final athlete to enter competition in Beijing, failed to qualify for the second round in the 200m race category. This would have followed the earlier exits of Niall Roberts in the first round of the 50m freestyle swimming event and Marian Burnett similarly in the 800m athletics event,” he said.
However Adonis singled out Aliann Pompey for giving an impressive performance at the event.
Aliann Pompey
“Aliann Pompey was quite impressive in getting through the first round in the 400m to book a place in the semi-finals for that event in a time of 50:99s. In the semi-final heat, however, although improving her performance and emulating her personal best time of 50:93s in the event, it was not sufficient to take her into the finals, scheduled for Tuesday evening at the National Stadium, Beijing. She is to be commended, however, for her valiant effort and of the 56 women who participated in the 400m, Aliann’s final ranking was 11th overall,” he said.
It was a valiant effort by all Guyanese participants. Do not be discouraged guys. Just use that energy to prepare yourselves for London 2012. We need to do like our fellow Caribbean counterparts do, we need to work and train with the US team members. We will rise to the occasion and produce medals for our country. Keep your heads held high and know that God took 6 days to build Heaven and Earth. Reaching the pinnacle of Guyanese Track and Field will take time, dedication and support. BUT IT WILL HAPPEN!!!
I know seeing a Guyanese in the Semi-finals of the 400m was outstanding.
At least here’s an official who gives due where due is due … Thanks! Mr. Adonis … let’s learn from this and put systems in place to go for better, next time. Alian was sensational … Adam, Mirian and Niall too came up but fell short. Instead of doing like your predecessors to lament upon their return, Mr Adonis you should hold the same views. It tells that the athletes efforts are appreciated. At least I am proud of them, all.
2 quick notes: First, to the editor … “all reached the line before Guyana’s only track athlete to qualify for this year’s Olympics” in refernce to Adam is a little misleading. Aliann and Mirian qualified, too … with the top standards. Secondly, to Mrr. Adonis’ quote … “for her valiant effort and of the 56 women who participated in the 400m” is a little off. There were 51 listed, and 50 competed.
Whenever something ends, no matter the results, then something else new must begin in its place. Guyana now have an excellent opportunity to start over with a better attitude for success.
I belive that the lack of everyday competition, for local athletes, is one of the major obstacales that must be overcome. Obviously, this speaks to simple neighborhood organization, planning and promotion by an appropiate authority, where some sort of a scale-down track meet could be staged somewhere in the country every two to three weeks.
Great athletes don’t just fall from the sky they are manufactured one tiny race at one tiny event at a trime. The more small athletics events like a neighborhood 30 meters dash, 60 meters dash and 90 meters dash is how you discover sprinters. And if you want to doubt me, talk to the one time world record holder Asafa Powell .
Additionally, I am saying that kids love this stuff because anybody can participate without prior athletic experience, so there is a small harvest out there in every neighborhood just waiting to be reaped.
good try guys keep it up and keep our flag flying.
For mr Adonis being Guyana’s “chef de mission” there’s surely alot of misunderstanding on his part about athlete qualification information. In my opinion the fact that there were only four athletes representing a nation of strong aspiring champions it surely discouraged support from many citizens. It’s quite unbelieveable that smaller fellow caribbean countries produced so much. our government needs to spend more time and money in both our academic and athletic departments because as everyone knows- you can go nowhere in this world withouth a sound education.
In fostering the athleticism in Guyana’s kids we foster future CEOs and bigger better “Usain Bolt”s of this country.
Let’s open up this nation to the world and show them what we have to offer!
I agree with the above sentiments. Sout Korea is a classic example for these Guyanese to study and emulate. They did not rise to the occasion overnight. It took them years to accomplish to shock the world at the Olympics. They had a paln and worked their plan. They were focused. Hope they also can be supported by the Guyana government. I am expecting great things from these athletes in London 2012. Shoot for the stars.