AFTER capturing the country’s National 400 metres title over the weekend, Aliyah Abrams is now shifting her attention to competing at the Tokyo Olympic Games.

It will mark her second appearance at the Games, having competed at the 2016 event in Rio, Brazil.
Having qualified for the 32nd Olympiad in the 400m since 2019, Abrams is looking forward to making amends for her performance at the games in Brazil.

In Rio, Abrams finished fifth in her heat and didn’t advanced to the next round.

Speaking to Chronicle Sport, Abrams noted that a lot has changed, for the better, from her first taste of competition at the Olympic-level in 2016.

“I’m a lot more prepared mentally and physically to go and compete to the best of my abilities. The first time around I had a very long break between my last competition and the Rio Games, so this time around, I have a lot more competition, so I’m prepared as can be,” Abrams said.

Competing at the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) National Championships, Abrams clocked 54.51 seconds to take the title.

Though below her best time of 51.13 seconds, Abrams will be turning to other events to help fine-tune her preparations for Tokyo.

“I have a few meets lined up and, of course, if anything changes, me and my coach will discuss, but of course I do have two meets that I planned on participating in before the games,” the 400m athlete said.

Abrams has competed for Guyana at the World Championships in Doha, where she reached the semi-finals for the women’s 200m.

On the collegiate circuit, Abrams is an All-American with the University of South Carolina.

Last year, after a long summer of competition where she reached the semi-finals of the World Championships, Abrams returned to the Gamecocks in a short season on the track, where she won the University of South Carolina’s Indoor Open in the 400m with a time of 52.78.

The Guyanese athlete finished 13th at the NCAA Southeastern Conference Indoor Championships and qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships as a part of the Gamecocks 4x400m relay squad.