By Michelangelo Jacobus

AFTER three separate CARIFTA Trial Meets hosted by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), 10 athletes have made the qualifying standards and all should be well on their way to making an appearance at the CARIFTA Games in little less than five weeks in the Bahamas.

Among those 10 athletes is World U-18 400m silver medalist, Daniel Williams; South American U-20 long jump gold medalist Chantoba Bright and South American Youth Games 400m gold medalist Deshana Skeete.

Yesterday at the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC), Leonora, Jermaine Simmons added his name to the contingent by qualifying in the Boys U-20 Shot Put event; he threw some distance beyond the qualifying mark of 17 meters, Simmons best effort was recorded at 17.17m. His nearest competitor, Osafo Dos Santos, was way behind at 15.08.
Also qualifying for the U-18 Boys High Jump was Police’s Tortque Boyce who cleared the bar at 1.93m just ahead of the 1.90m CARIFTA standard.

Deshana Skeete was in tremendous form running 24.27s in the Girls U-17 200m, well within the qualifying standard of 24.7. She faced no competition in that event as no other athlete managed to make the qualifying time. Meanwhile, in the Girls’ U-17 category, she ran 56.95s two weeks ago, just under the standard of 57s flat to qualify for the 400m on her first attempt.

In the previous Trial Meets, Chantoba Bright, Daniel Williams, Princess Brown and Anthony Williams had already qualified in their respective events; Daniel in the Boys U-20 200m and 400m, while Bright booked her place on the team in the Girls U-20 long jump, along with Brown.

Anthony Williams, meanwhile, continued to improve steadily in the Boys U-20 long jump and booked his spot in that event as well. The long-jumper bettered his 7.10m jump from the first weekend of trials, increasing that to 7.14m. He was joined by Lindener Tremain Browne who leapt some 7.07m to join Williams in the top-two bracket of Boys’ U-20 long-jumpers.

Daniel Williams had bettered his 200m time from the first meet just two weeks ago at the second meet by running 21 seconds flat, well within the CARIFTA Standard of 21.60s. Meanwhile, on the same day he ensured that he booked his spot in the 400m by running 48.35s, well under the qualifying standard of 48.50s.

The CARIFTA Games will be hosted by the Bahamas in Nassau this year and will run from March 30 to April 2.

Guyana’s probable contingent to the Bahamas will comprise Daniel Williams, Chantoba Bright, Deshana Skeete, Shaquka Tyrell, Princess Brown, Anthony Williams, Tremaine Brown, Jermaine Simmons, Murphy Nash and Tortque Boyce.