The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) has sent a three-member team to the South American Youth Championships in Cali, Colombia.Under the guide of former national sprinter Julian Edmonds, Jason Yaw and Natricia Hooper left these shores yesterday and will represent Guyana over the period November 28-30, with Yaw doing so in the 400m event and Hooper the 400m and Triple Jump.
Both were recently on show at the rain aborted National Schools Track and Field Championships, with Hooper shattering the Girls Under-18 Triple Jump record when she posted a distance of 11.95 seconds, beating the old mark of 10.60m which was set by Shonnett Freeman last year.
Yaw, a favourite to medal in the Boys U-20 100m at the school’s championships however had a bad outing falling outside the podium in a race that was won by Tevin Garraway, who erased Edmonds 22-year-old record of 10.6 seconds.
It was equaled by Kevin Abbensetts last year, only to see Garraway clocking 10.5 seconds in this year’s event to set a new mark.
Yaw to his credit has been consistent over the years and AAG president Aubrey Hutson said he was selected to represent Guyana based on his performances over the course of the year.
Yaw holds national records in the 400m at both the Under-16 (51.8 secs.) and Under-18 levels (49.9 secs.) and he also holds records in the 200m in both age groups and jointly holds the Boys U-18 100m record of 10.7 seconds.
Hooper was selected based on her performance at this year’s School’s Championships – specifically her triple jump record, and they are expected to return on December 1.

(By Leeron Brumell)