Sprinter Compton Caesar and triple jumper, Natricia Hooper, claimed Guyana’s first gold medals at the 2017 Flow CARIFTA Games which got off to a flying start yesterday in Curacao.
Caesar created history by winning the marquee 100m boys-U20 final in a negative -1.1 wind, the first 100m U-20 sprint gold for Guyana at the Games which is in its 46th edition.
The Linden native clocked 10.46s to beat Barbadian Jaquone Hoyte by 1000th of a second and Jamaican favourite, Jelani Walker (10.61s) who rounded out the podium.
“This is one of the happiest moments for me and for athletics in Guyana,” said President of the Athletic Association of Guyana, Aubrey Hutson in an invited comment.
“If you look at the way it was run, for me it is without a doubt one of the greatest achievements of a local junior sprinter.”
Hooper, ranked fourth in the world junior rankings in the triple jump, hopped, skipped and leaped to 13.08m to easily win the event ahead of Jamaica’s Tissanna Hickling (12.87m) and Kala Penn (12.73m) of the British Virgin Islands.
Guyana’s medal count swelled to four on the first day after Anfernee Headecker and Claudrice McCoy claimed silver and bronze medals in their respective events.
