Defending champions and Olympic medallists are among the 2000 athletes competing at this year’s World Athletic Championships in Budapest, Hungary from August 19 to 27 and a pair of Guyanese will be among them.
Star sprinters, Aliyah Abrams and Emanuel Archibald are scheduled to depart from their respective training bases for Budapest on a quest to make the nation proud at this year’s event.
The USA-based Abrams and the Jamaica-based Archibald, will be making their third appearance at the annual showpiece.
Abrams, a two-time Olympian, earned her qualification at the event after erasing Aliann Pompey’s 400m national record in May in The Bahamas. Abrams, 26, won the quarter-mile event at the New Life Invitational in 50.71s. She is set to get into the blocks from Sunday in the women’s 400m heats.
Archibald, who will compete in the blue riband 100m race, is enjoying sublime late season form. He stormed to victory in the final of the marquee race at the CAC Games last month in El Salvador, clocking 10.24s. The 28-year-old will be looking to run even faster and clinch a berth in the final following the heats which commence Saturday.
With big names like Andre De Grasse, Fred Kerley, Christian Coleman, Noah Lyles, Akani Simbine and others, Archibald will have to run sub-10 to be in contention in the Hungarian capital.
Meanwhile, AAG’s head Sheryl Hermonstine and James Cole along with Abrams’ coach, Derrick White are the official on the sojourn.
According to Hermonstine, the delegation’s expenses were blanketed by funding from the Guyana Olympic Association and the National Sports Commission.
