Archibald & Abrams to attend World Championships in Hungary

THE Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) yesterday held a press conference at the National Racquet Centre on Woolford Avenue to explain why the governing body for Athletics in Guyana was forced to cancel the National Senior and National Junior Athletics Championships.

The National seniors were slated for June and the Juniors for July, but the AAG, which had begun preparations for the two events since April, were forced to cancel both events due to the unavailability of an ‘appropriate venue’ after all options proved fruitless.

According to head of the AAG’s Organising Committee, Tyrone Smith, the dates for the Championships had to be rescheduled to a later date in July due to the ongoing works at the National Track and Field Centre (NTFC) at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD).

“Another option was the Guyana National Stadium at Providence. However, preparations were being done for International Cricket.
In addition, the track there is 300 meters which is not approved by World Athletics (WA), so we pushed back the Championships to August 11-13 with both the Seniors and Juniors to be merged into one big event at the Eve Leary ground” informed Smith.

The Guyana Police Force celebrated it’s 184th anniversary during the month of July and some of the anniversary activities, including the Gymkhana, were held at the Eve Leary ground which was named after the daughter of the plantation owners. She committed suicide in the late 1960s.

“During the Gymkhana, the horses jumped through loops with fire and parts of the track was burnt. When we visited there last Friday for an inspection, a section of the ground was in a soggy condition and the venue would not have been ready in time.
Some have asked about Linden. But while the track has been fully completed other facilities like the stands and washrooms were not yet finished and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has not yet approved the Venue,” continued Smith.

“We had no choice but to cancel the Championships since it could not be held at a later time because that would be during the off-season when the athletes start their pre-season training for the 2024 season,” concluded the President of the AAG’s Organising Committee.

It was disclosed that National Athletes, Emanuel Archibald (Male) and Aliyah Abrams (female), will be participating at the World Championship from August 19-28 in Hungary.
The 26-year-old Abrams became the first Guyanese to qualify for the World Championships in Track and Field after her 50.77 seconds-run in the Women’s 400m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational last April.

The AAG sent best wishes to the Guyana team at the Junior Commonwealth Games in Trinidad and congratulated Tianna Springer for winning Guyana’ first ‘Gold’ after the 16-year-old produced an impressive run in the women’s 400m final at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.

Springer, who also won gold at this year’s CARIFTA Games and South American U-20 Championships, finished with a personal best of 53.55 seconds.
On the local front, a 5k and 10k Road Race is planned for the first Sunday in November around the East Coast Corridor while the National Schools Championships is set for November and is scheduled for the NTFC, which will be ready for that event

The AAG was represented by it’s President (Ag) Sheryl Hermonstyne; General Secretary James Cole; Competitions Secretary, Kenisha Headley, and Vice-Presidents Niall Stanton and Keith Campbell.