…Archibald, Foster, Chance and Abrams among shortlisted athletes hoping

WITH the South American Senior Championships set for May 14–16, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) is hoping to send a strong contingent, as they aim to provide Guyanese athletes with the best possible chance of qualifying for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
AAG president Aubrey Hutson said they would like to accommodate every athlete who is serious at reaching the Games of the XXXII Olympiad in Japan, but in the end, it all comes down to finances. Aliyah Abrams, who represented Guyana at the 2016 Olympic Games, competing in the 400 metres, is so far the lone track and field athlete to qualify for the Tokyo Games. Abrams and her sister Jasmine, along with Andrea Foster, Arinze Chance and Emanuel Archibald are among the list of athletes earmarked by AAG to attend the games in Ecuador.

The local track and field governing body’s president highlighted that the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 Track and Field season puts the University of Florida’s Natricia Hooper and Kansas State’s Chantoba Bright out of contention for selection.
Hutson revealed that now, everything will be “based on our ability and their ability to find that airfare…we are going to be working along with a team of 16 to 17-man contingent and it;s going to cost us a lot, so we will be looking to the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).”
The AAG president said with a number of athletes going pro, or on the border of becoming professional athletes, “if they are really serious about their future in this sport, in terms of making it to Tokyo in particular, they will sit with us and let us try to work things out.”

Meanwhile, in a recent interview with the Newsroom, Hutson said while qualification for this year’s Olympic Games is a priority the AAG also wants to keep an eye on athletes for the Commonwealth Games and World Championships in 2022.
Hutson indicated that track and field is a performance-based sport and AAG will continue to invest in those who are improving creditably.
“If you go out there and make the time, you are entitled to go once you qualify. So, in making the investment, if Winston George is still running fast and still the fastest national athlete at 400m and still making the qualifying standard, we have an obligation to ensure Winston George gets to those games, and not necessarily say we are not going to send Winston, but a younger athlete who is not making the standard,” Hutson said.
Archibald, Winston George, Devaun Barrington, Akeem Stewart and Leslain Baird were the male representatives at the 2019 Championships in Lima, Peru, while Jenea McCammon was the lone female.