Top athletes take podium spots as athletics season opens

Usual suspects, Emanuel Archibald, Leslain Baird and Kenisha Phillips were among the standout performers when the Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) staged its first development meet of the 2019 season on Wednesday evening at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground.

Archibald, of the University of Guyana, sprinted to top honours in the Men’s 20+ 150 metres (15.60s) and 300m (35.30s) events. He then took his talents to the pit and disturbed the sand at 7.82m to win the Men 20+ Long Jump event.

Baird, the national javelin record holder, easily won his pet event with a throw of 67.13m. The GDF standout then proved to be just as explosive on the track, winning the Men’s 20+ 60m dash in 6.89s.

Phillips, of the Running Brave Athletic Club, stormed to victories in the Girls 15-17 60m dash and the 300m race in 7.86s and 41.05s respectively.

Other standout athletes on Wednesday included: Princess Brown (Girls 15-17 150m and triple jump), Lionel Marks (Boys 15-17 150m and 300m), Deron Roberts (Boys 16-17 60m) and Alita Moore (Women’s 20+ 60m).

According to an AAG release, Wednesday’s meet was the first track and field event for 2019. It was used to evaluate the competitive level of local athletes coming into the season.

The second meet which will comprise of the same odd distance events, will be staged at the Enmore Community Centre Ground from 09:00hrs on January 26.