DANIEL Williams, Deshana Skeete and Kenisha Phillips booked their place on team Guyana for the July 10-15 IAAF World U-20 Championships, set for the Ratina Stadium in Tampere, Finland.

Williams qualified for the 200 metres when he clocked 21.21 seconds, a personal best, in the Boys’ U-20 final at the just concluded CARIFTA Games. The qualifying standard time set by the IAAF is 21.35 seconds.

For Skeete, her time of 54.15 secs which was good enough to see her win bronze in the Girls’ U-17 400 metres final was faster than the 55 secs asked by the world governing body for athletics.

Meanwhile, for Phillips, though she was unsuccessful in reaching the podium in the Girls’ U-20 200 metres final, her time, 24.14 seconds was enough to see her book a spot to travel to Finland.

In 2012, at the IAAF World U-20 Championships, held in Spain, Kadecia Baird, competing in the 400m, ran 51.04 secs to finish second behind Americas Ashley Spencer, but ahead of Erika Rucker (USA).

The American Spencer, since winning gold ahead of Guyana’s Baird, went on to grab gold in the 400m at the World Indoor Championships (2013), gold in the 4x400m relay at the 2013 World Championships, and bronze in the 400m hurdles at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

When Baird won silver in 2012, Shaunae Miller of The Bahamas came fourth in the same race. In 2013 at the CARIFTA Games, Baird was third to Miller in the 400m, and in 2014, the Guyanese won the 400m and was second in the 200m at the games in Martinique.

Today, Miller, 23, is the 400m Olympic champion, while Baird, 22, is still competing on the NCAA level after a transfer to Texas A & M from Nebraska over a year ago. Not since her last showing at the CARIFTA Games has Baird competed for Guyana on the international stage.