THE country’s 200-metre specialists are on the road to giving Guyana another medal at the ongoing South American Games after strong performances on Wednesday in Santa Fe, Argentina.

The sprinters found success in the men’s 200 metres, where Shamar Horatio and Tishawn Easton stormed their way to the final with outstanding runs in the semi-finals.

Horatio, running in his semi-final, finished in a fast fourth place with a time of 21.03 seconds; the race was won by Colombia’s Ronal Longa in a blistering 20.83 seconds.

Horatio has a personal best time of 20.56 achieved in May and believes that he has a shot at delivering hardware.

He will also come up against his countrymate Tishawn Easton, who placed second in his 200-metre semi-finals with a time of 21.20.

The pair will compete against South America’s best sprinters for a chance to add to the country’s lone Taekwondo medal at the games.

Also set to feature in a final is six-time national champion and Pan American Games javelin medalist Leslain Baird.
Baird, who boasts a best of 78.65 metres, will have to do better than his PB (personal best) against a strong field with several throwers who have reached over the 80-metre mark.

Simeon Adams also produced a strong showing in the Men’s 400m event; he finished fourth in his heat in a season-best 47.12 seconds to reach the finals.

In the men’s 400 finals Adams had an underwhelming showing, stopping the clock in a pedestrian-like 47.53 seconds to bow out in sixth place.

Revon Williams also ran the men’s 400 metres, but finished seventh place in his semifinal heat in 48.02 seconds.

Other track-and-field athletes at the games include Kenisha Phillips, who was off the mark in both women’s 400 and 200 metres.

In the 200 semis, she ended in fourth place in 24.67 seconds, while her 400 semis saw her crossing the finishing line in sixth in 55.41 seconds.

Akeelah Dover also ran the women’s 400 semis; she ran a slow one minute 02.16 seconds for sixth place in her heat.

The men’s 100-metre category saw Akeem Stewart and Onesi Dunn with the former placing third in his heat in 10.66 seconds, and while it was good enough for eighth place overall, only the top two in each heat and the next two best times advanced.
Stewart was also third in 10.76 seconds, which could not advance him to the finals.

The South American Games, which opened on September 12, features more than 4000 athletes in 63 sports disciplines and concludes on Saturday.