Simmons and van Lange net Guyana’s first IGG gold medals

OLYMPIAN Britany van Lange and Soroya Simmons yesterday collected Guyana’s first gold medals at the 2014 Inter-Guiana Games, when the multi-sport event started off with the swimming segment at the National Aquatic Centre, Liliendaal.

Guyana ended with five individual medals – two gold and three silver – and two relay medals by the end of yesterday’s competition, where Guyana totalled 39 points, trailing behind French Guiana who ended with 47 points while Suriname were leading with 52 points.
Goodwill Swimming Championship gold medallist van Lange picked up her gold medal in the Girls’ 200m IM (Individual Medley), touching the wall in 2:43.02s to outdo Suriname’s Anjali Rahan, who managed to hold onto second place after swimming 2:48.67s. French Guiana took the next two positions in the race. Not done yet, van Lange went on to pick up one of the day’s bronze medals in the 50m freestyle.
Coming in behind two Surinamese van Lange clocked 28.65 seconds in a race where the top four finishers all achieved below 29 seconds. The ultimate win of the race went to Gabrielle Breidel who had a 28.26 seconds finish, while Chantell Peiter also managed to slide in ahead of van Lange after she touched the wall in 28.65 seconds.
Simmons, who represented Guyana along with van Lange at the CARIFTA Swimming Championships earlier this year, took a commanding win in the Girls’ 100m backstroke clocking 1:14.16s to relegate French Guiana’s Leane Lopez’s 1:16.46s finish to second place.
In the race Guyana’s Accalia Khan was just outside of podium position, picking up three points for team Guyana as she finished fourth in a time of 1:19.46s.
Khan, Simmons and van Lange were joined by Jamila Sanmoogan to take on the 50m medley relay. They earned silver for team Guyana in 2:17.19s. The win went to team French Guiana, whose girls clocked 2:15.27s.
Sanmoogan was also among the day’s individual medal-takers as well, as she worked her way up to a third-place finish in the 50m breaststroke. Gaelle Tarcy took the race for French Guiana in a time of 35.03 seconds, while Suriname walked away with another silver medal thanks to Peiter’s 39.83 seconds finish. However, Sanmoogan’s 40.89 seconds ensured Guyana shared in the hardware.
The Boys were not left out of the medal takings, with Dylan Nurse taking a bronze in the 50m breaststroke in a time of 37.53 seconds, while the team finished third in the 50m medley relay in a time of 1:57.52s.
Competition in the swimming segment of the Games, which also involves completion in basketball and track and field, will continue today at the same venue beginning at 09:00hrs.
The Games wraps up tomorrow.

(By Tamica Garnett)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.