ANISHA Gibbons, the first female athlete to win gold for Guyana in the javelin event in the history of the CARIFTA Games, will lead the 13 athletes named by the Athletes Association of Guyana (AAG) for this year’s competition, which is set for Kingston, Jamaica.

The April 16-18 event will mark the 49th hosting of the CARIFTA Games, which is the Caribbean’s most prestigious youth and junior track and field event.

Coached by Raymond Daw and Sham Johnny, Guyana, in the U17 Girls will have Narissa McPherson (800m) and Attoya Harvey (800m, 1500m, 3000m). Javon Roberts (800m) is the lone competitor in the Boys’ U17 category.

Gibbons, who won Guyana’s historic gold in javelin in 2019, along with 800m bronze medallist Adriel Austin, will lead Keliza Smith (100m, 200m), Karese Lloyd (100m, 200m), Hannah Reid (400m), in the Girls’ U20 division.

Meanwhile, Shamar Horatio (100m, 200m), Ezekiel Newton (100m, 200m), Wesley Tyndall (long jump), Gabriel Lim (javelin and discus), Trevon Hamer (triple jump) will represent Guyana in the Boys’ U20 category.

At the 2019 CARIFTA Games, AAG sent a record 21 athletes and finished with four gold, two silver and three bronze medals

While the AAG is yet to make an official announcement, the team’s manager, Nadine Trotz, said she’s confident that the athletes will do their best.

“We have seen our athletes constantly improve over the trials, so we are expecting them to make the best of this exposure to greater competition. It is a very talented team of junior athletes that will represent Guyana and we expect them to return with hardware,” Trotz said.

Close to 650 athletes are expected on the Land of Wood and Water, competing in U17 and U20 categories as well as 150 officials from 27 countries.

This is the eighth time that Jamaica will host the CARIFTA GAMES since its inception in 1972. Of the 48 editions held so far, Jamaica have topped the medal table on 43 occasions. (Rawle Toney)