The accolades cannot be enough for the splendid performances of Guyana’s champion athletes at the just concluded junior Carifta Games.
In securing fourth place on the medals table with its haul of four gold, two silver and two bronze medals, the team secured Guyana’s best ever finish at the event since its inception in 1972.
And with it came an avalanche of plaudits from all quarters, from the genuine well-wishers to the band-wagonists, across social media, and the real media as their exploits were witnessed across the country through Sportsmax’s live coverage of the action.
Gold medalists Tianna Springer, Athaleyha Hinckson, Malachi Austin made themselves household names in the athletics fraternity and given their contributions to the team’s historic achievement while the other medalists Kaidon Persaud and Attoya Harvey can be justifiably proud as well.
Not to mention the monumental support of the entire 23 member size team of competitors, the work of the coaches and support staff have all contributed to making our junior stars the toast of the nation’s sports fraternity presently.
Now that the euphoria has subsided it is time for all the talk to be backed up by tangible support for our young heroes to take their game to the next level.
Being champions of the Caricom English speaking region is great but the onus must be for similar success at Global level. It will be a monumental task given Guyana’s almost non-existent profile of success in the sport outside of the Caribbean.
But it can be done as the level of ability displayed by new stars was astoundingly and high who managed to reap success in a country without minimal infrastructure and support base for athletes.
All five of the Individual medalists in Grenada last weekend proved they deserve immediate necessary training and exposure in the quest for greater success beyond the Region
It means the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) is required to chart a plan of action requiring significant support from Government and Corporate Guyana to transition the obviously talented juniors to champions at the senior level.
It’s been a longstanding problem as the country has had numerous outstanding juniors over the years who’ve been unable to take their success to greater heights as seniors primarily due to lack of motivational support.
In romping to victory in the girls’ Under-20 400 metres clash then following up with a leading role in the victorious 4×400 mixed relay, newly credentialed three- time Carifta gold medalist Springer, heads the current group with potential for continued excellence.
Austin, who also was part of the victorious 4×400 lineup and Hinckson’s historic girls Under-17 100 metres title win, becoming Guyana’s first female to win the marquee event at Carifta, in the process, also should be prioritized on the support list.
In a remarkable run of success over the last 12 months, 16-year-old Springer is now on course to become one of the nation’s most accomplished juniors ever, following title winning feats at the Commonwealth Youth Games and South American Junior Championships in 2023. Her personal best 52.31 seconds posted last Saturday is a steep improvement from her scene-bursting 54.32s effort recorded in her 2023 Carifta triumph at Under-17.
It means she is merely a little more than a second off the 51.04s Kadecia Baird posted in placing second at World junior Championships in 2012, to date Guyana ‘s singular best ever display at junior level in the sport. And at 16, she is two years younger than Baird was at the time, which makes her latest accomplishment notably significant.
Diminutive Hinckson, in Shelly Ann Fraser Price mold, utilized her tremendous turn over, not unlike the two-time Olympic 100metres champion in clocking 11.44 seconds, holding off her Jamaican challenger after a blazing start in a most pleasing display. To prove her prowess was no fluke Hinckson notched her second medal, narrowly losing to top Jamaican Natrese East, to cop silver in the 200metres. At 15 years her performance must rank as the best ever by any Guyanese at that age at the Championships.
And what about Austin whose grit, determination and stamina stood out in a sterling display that ended with him coming home with the largest tally of medals counting two golds and a bronze. Like Springer his improvement is noteworthy, rising from a seventh place finish from last year’s 400m event, a second place silver at the Commonwealth Youth Championships, all last year, and now rounding things off with a personal best 46.35 seconds in the more challenging Under-20 division this year.
The 400 is considered athletics’ most challenging event and to have competed in all three days, grinding out two races a day twice en-route to his golds in the individual event and mixed relay, along with the 4×400 men’s bronze, Hinckson’s feat is unheard of junior competitors and bodes well for his future well- being in the event.
Austin’s team mate Persaud was similarly well conditioned as after competing in the javelin placing sixth he qualified for the Under-17 800 final and his sustained challenge in the 100 metres of the event was exemplary even if he was held off by eventual winner Keandre of Jamaica.
Although Harvey was unable to reproduce her exploits in previous appearances at the meet, which realized four medals in two previous championships her third place bronze in the 3000m was commendable given that her preparation was incomplete as the outdoor season in the United States where she is based has not begun.
As Austin stated following his 400m triumph one of his goals was to qualify for the World Championships later this year in Peru, and having done so, quite convincingly along with Springer, Hinckson along with the two medal winning relay teams, all hands must get on board to make their participation and others who would’ve made the qualifying standards, outside of the Carifta Games, a reality.
Government, Corporate Guyana and the Guyana Olympic Association must pull out the stops to ensure the funding for the preparation and eventual participation possible.
It would require them competing in meets in the run-up to the competition between now and August as it will make little sense in them competing against the world’s best with mere development meets at home. The Penn Relays in Philadelphia this month will be an ideal start given that individual events are also on.
It’s been a long since high such quality athletics talent have been unearthed on the local scene and if Minister Ramson’s pledge to have Guyana win its first Olympics medal in the sport at the 2028 Olympics, is to be fulfilled the preparation must start now in Peru.
