We are champions! Raucous applause filled the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, at that statement by Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sport, Charles Ramson Jr.
He was at the time delivering the keynote address at the welcome home reception held in honour of Guyana’s returning Carifta Games contingent, which netted a haul of eight medals (four gold, two silver, and two bronze) in Grenada, the country’s best return in 51 years of participating at the prestigious regional games.
While Guyana had also copped eight medals at the last edition of the Games in the Bahamas, their gold medal count was larger this time around.
“On behalf of the people of the country, His Excellency President Ali, and the Government of Guyana, I have the privilege of welcoming you home, back to our shores, wearing gold and glittering in glory,” Ramson said.
He spoke with pride about the success of the athletes, saying, “Many of you are unaware of the impact you have on this country just by succeeding the way that you have done. This is Guyana’s greatest medal haul. Never have we achieved so many gold medals. Next Carifta Games, we are going to be letting everyone else know; all the other countries know that we are coming for more medals.”
The minister also spoke about the investment that the government is making in sports and noted that it was rewarding to see the return. Guyana scored a gold medal in a record-breaking 4x400m mixed relay run; Tianna Springer copped gold in the girl’s U-20 400m; Malachi Austin took gold in the boy’s U-20 400m; and Athaleyah Hinckson took the girl’s U17 100m gold.
Meanwhile, Kaidon Persaud took silver in a riveting boy’s U-17 800m race, while Hinckson had to settle for silver in the girl’s U-17 200m dash. Guyana’s two bronze medals came courtesy of Attoya Harvey in the girl’s U-20 3000m and the boy’s 4x400m relay.
Earlier at the reception, Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) President Amanda Hermonstine applauded the team’s effort, saying, “I am honoured to say that our athletes have done us proud again. We’ve been going to Carifta for 51 years, and while we have been winning, this year we sent the largest contingent ever (23 athletes), and we had our largest gold medal haul.”
Hermonstine also revealed that the AAG has “signalled our intention to host the Carifta Games in 2026”, adding, “We were given all the necessary requirements, and we have three months to put together our plan and to decide if we want to go through with hosting the games.”
Meanwhile, Director of Sports, Steve Ninvalle, was also on hand and spoke about the members of the National Sports Commission accompanying the contingent and was happy to “report it was smooth sailing. We are extremely happy and extremely proud of the athletes’ performances. We have pushed extensively to make sure that this team was psychologically prepared. Many times teams are going abroad, and a week before we do not know if the tickets are coming or if the accommodation is there, so we made sure everything was in place this time around.”
While Guyana placed fourth on the medal haul table, Jamaica once again dominated the Games with a haul of 84 medals at the Kirani James Stadium in Grenada. The Bahamas were a distant second with 35 medals, while Trinidad and Tobago bagged 27 medals.
(Michelangelo Jacobus)
