Saul equals 17-year 100m record

By Marlon Munroe

Michael Saul equalled a 17-year-old 100m record; Winston George exacted revenge on Saul in the 200m; Dennis Horatio ran the most exciting third leg in the 1600m relay and a boisterous crowd was thankful for these thrilling highlights.

Michael Saul signals number one to the cameraman after equalling a 17-year-old record at the GPF track & field championships yesterday. (Orlando Charles photo)

The highlights marked the end of the 56th edition of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) Track & Field Championships at the Eve Leary ground yesterday.

In the end the Guyanese lawmen triumphed in the international competition with 218 points over Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados  who ended on 110 ½ and 61 ½ points respectively.

In the local competition, Headquarters blew its competitors  away with 622 points while A Division, finishing a distant second, had 333 points.

B Division ended on 219 points and C Division rounded out the roster with 179 points.

For the female champion athlete Natasha Alder, who won the javelin, triple jump and Subordinate Officer 100m, retained her title with total of 30 points with Ronald Payne being  the men’s equivalent.

For the 100m men’s A class final the entire arena was on its feet. Some risk takers favoured Saul, some favoured George and former national champion Keith Roberts became a back bencher. They believed that there would be a changing of the guard.

Nadine Rodrigues crosses the line ahead Leota Babb in the 100m at the Eve Leary ground yesterday. (Orlando Charles photo)

It was an even start to the race – the three bunched at the 60m point as they made the transition from acceleration to top speed. Roberts was dropped at the 80m point and it was all Saul and George from there on.

Saul and George approached the line looking as if the officials were in for a hard decision until George mistimed his dip and gave the lanky Saul the advantage. A time of 10.3s was registered for Saul, who equalled Colin Boyce’s 17-year-old record.

George clocked 10.5s for the second while Barbadian Shane Dyer was third with 11.0s.

For the 200m Saul came off the turn in the lead for the homestretch but George caught him by the 150m mark and beat him convincingly – almost by five metres. The crowd was ecstatic and the score was settled between the two whose rivalry began last year.

On the women’s side there was also a close finish between Nadine Rodrigues and Leota Babb. Their long standing rivalry got hotter yesterday with Rodrigues clocking 12.5s and Babb finishing second with 13s flat; Akeela Alves came in with a consolation time of 14s.

There was no doubt in the half lap with Rodrigues convincingly beating the field with a time of 28s while Dellie Williams, who returned to beat Rodrigues in the quarter mile, was second.

Sprint sensation Okeme Stewart was untouched in the men’s B class 100m and 200m events.

He clocked 11s in the 100m while Cordell Mentore and Hakim Atkins were second and third respectively. In the 200m Stewart ran 22.2s.

HQ athlete was handed the baton in third place at the third leg of the 4x400m relay but by the end of his leg,  anchor man Trevor Scotland, who also won the 400m,  was handed the baton with a 10m lead. Scotland increased that lead for his team to mark 3:31.4 on the books.

Horatio, earlier, in the day was clinical in the 1500m with a time of 4:19.4s ahead of Kelvin Ceres and Larry Josiah, who was dethroned as the defending champion. On the distaff side Teshonna Punch of HQ upset the field with a stunning run down the homestretch to register a time of 5:35.8.

The men’s invitational 200m was another crowd pleaser with Patrick King turning the tables on Alton Seaforth, who had won their heat. King ran a respectable 21.7s and Seaforth clocked 21.8s; Kellon Reid was third with 22.5s.

Alicia Fortune taught the young ladies an athletics lesson with compelling wins. She ran 12.0s in the 100m- beating her opponents by 10 metres. Dellon De Abreu was equally devastating in his win in the Police Progressive Youth Club (PPYC) 100m with a time 11.0s and also beating his opponents by 10 metres.