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2008 Registration & Olympic Games Possible Team
Here is a list of athletes i'm working to get registered or have already
registered to compete. I'm looking to a team to run together over here because we need to run together at least two.
These athlete below combine with couple from home - Rawle Green and Alisha Fortune.
| Name |
School |
Event |
Gender |
| Austin, Analisa |
GUY (JR) - University of Illinois |
100m - 400m |
F |
| Chichester,
Jennifer |
GUY (JR) - Norfolk State |
800m - 3000m |
F |
| Corlette, Angilla |
GUY - Emerging Elite TC |
100m - 400m |
F |
| DeCruise, Ashley |
GUY (JR) - Mount Saint Mary's |
100m - 400m |
F |
| DeCruise, Ashlynn |
GUY (JR) - Mount Saint Mary's |
100m - 400m |
F |
| Gomes, Michelle |
GUY - Rutgers University |
100m - 400m |
F |
| Munroe, Dianne |
GUY - Bethune-Cookman |
100m - 400m |
F |
| Pompey, Aliann |
GUY - Unattached |
200m, 400m |
F |
| Burnett, Marian |
GUY - Unattached |
400m - 1500m |
F |
| Benjamin, Jeavon |
GUY - Arizona State |
400m |
F |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bascom, Jeremy |
GUY - Unattached |
100m, 200m |
M |
| Lee, Randy |
GUY - Norfolk State |
200m - 800m |
M |
| Prowell, Lee |
GUY - Unattached |
100m, 200m |
M |
| Sarabo, Kwesi |
GUY - Unattached |
100m, 200m |
M |
| Wong, Clifford
C |
GUY - US Elite T&F Club |
200m |
M |
| Dann, Dax |
GUY - Nebraska |
100m - 400m |
M |
| Bascom, Deon |
GUY - Unattached |
400m, 800m |
M |
Women's 4x4 Qualification Chances
Based on the personal best in my report system
Aliann Pompey - 51.34
Jeavon Benjamin - 53.45
Marian Burnett - 54.19
Dianne Monroe - 55.57
The relay total would be 3:34.55
However, Aliann (PR) = 50.96 and Angilla Colette ran 39.51 - 300m PR.
Our chances of getting to the 12th to 16th is greatly in hand.
12 - JPN - 3:30.35
13 - BRA - 3:31.11
14 - CHN - 3:32.25
15 - ITA - 3:32.73
16 - ROU - 3:32.95
Past News Articles Published.
Nesterenko wins women’s 100-metre final
… Campbell snatches first Caribbean track medal
By Lance Whittaker
ATHENS, Greece, (CMC) - Jamaican Veronica Campbell snatched the Caribbean’s first track & field medal at
the 2004 Athens Olympic Games with a third place finish in the women’s 100-metre final last night. Yuliya Nesterenko
of Belarus ran a powerful race to land the gold medal in a tight finish in 10.93 seconds, edging American Lauryn Williams
(10.96) and Campbell (10.97) to become the first non-American to win the Olympic 100-metre title in two dozen years.
Campbell, who appeared to lose valuable ground from a stumbling
start, becomes the fourth Jamaican and Caribbean medallist in the event - after Merlene Ottey (twice), Juliet Cuthbert, and
Tayna Lawrence.
“I feel good. I ran a personal best in the semifinal
10.93, and I’m just happy,” Campbell told CMC Sport.
“I didn’t get as good a race as I did in the
semifinal because I didn’t get out, and you know that happens in the hundred when you don’t get out, so now I
am just going to focus on the 200 and relay,” Campbell added.
Just under three hours before the final, the 22-year-old
Campbell had registered a career-best 10.93 seconds for second to Nesterenko (10.93) in a close semifinal.
In the gold medal race, Williams got the best start and
was clear early. Campbell and Nesterenko began to accelerate towards Williams at the halfway stage with Bulgaria’s Ivet
Lalova, and the Jamaican pair of Aleen Bailey and Sherone Simpson not far behind.
In a stirring run to the finish, Nesterenko was strongest
and won by 0.03 seconds over Williams to become the first non-American women’s Olympic 100-metre champion, since Russian
Lyudmila Kondratyeva won at the Moscow Olympics - that the United States boycotted - in 1980.
Meanwhile, the English-speaking Caribbean put five athletes
into today’s men’s 100-metre semifinal, after a quarter-final series that produced superb sub-10 clockings from
Americans Shaun Crawford, Justin Gatlin, and Maurice Greene, Jamaica’s Asafa Powell, and Portugal’s Francis Obikwelu.
Greene rebounded from two defeats against Powell in the
past month with a victory over the powerful Jamaican in heat five in 9.93 seconds.
Both sprinters ran conservatively and the less experienced
Powell, the current world number one, coasted through to second in 9.99.
Gatlin was a solid heat three winner in 9.96 seconds and
the tall Nigeria-born Obikwelu cruised to a Portugal national record 9.93 seconds to win the first heat ahead of Jamaican
Dwight Thomas, who equalled his personal best 10.12.
World champion Kim Collins of St Kitts and Nevis ran a comfortable
race in a personal season’s best 10.05 for second behind Ghana’s Aziz Zakari (10.02), with Jamaica’s Michael
Frater (10.11) third in that heat.
Also advancing from the Caribbean was Barbadian Sydney bronze
medallist Obadele Thompson, who chased Crawford for second with a time of 10.12.
The Netherlands Antilles’ Churandy Martina (10.24),
Cayman’s Kareem Streete-Thompson (10.24), and Trinidad & Tobago’s Nicconnor Alexander (10.48) were all eliminated.
The region’s 800-metre runners were eliminated in
the semifinals, as Britain’s Kelly Holmes (1:57.98), Morocco’s Hasna Benhassi (1:58.59) and Mozambique ’s
Maria Mutola (1:59.30) shared the wins.
Jamaican Michelle Ballentine (2:00.94), Marian Burnett (2:02.21),
and Suriname’s Letitia Vriesde (2:06.95) ended their campaigns.
In other disciplines yesterday, Barbadian shooter Michael
Maskell and Guyanese weightlifter Julian McWatt had losing outings.
In Skeet Shooting, Maskell scored 23 points from 25 in each
of the three rounds he shot for 37th position of 41 competitors.
McWatt was 14th in the men’s 85-kilogramme class after
snatching 125 kg and 147.5 kg in the clean and jerk for a 272.5 total.
This morning, Barbadian cyclist Barry Forde rides in a match
sprint.
He enters the event with some good credentials - several
Pan-Am Championship titles - and he also won a World Championship bronze and double Pan-Am Games gold last year although he
suffered the disappointment of being stripped of those medals after a positive test for a banned stimulant.
Good opening day on the track for the Caribbean
By Lance Whittaker
…
Marion Burnett advances to
next round in 800 metres
ATHENS, Greece, (CMC) - Caribbean women were prominent
in the 100-metre sprint and the region’s 400-metre men also announced themselves as medal prospects as the first full
day of track and field started at the Olympic Stadium yesterday.
After a fine morning session of sprinting in
which all but one of the English-speaking Caribbean entries advanced beyond the first round, the region distinguished itself
in an evening session of more progress and triple success in the men’s 400 metres.
French star Christine Arron looked very solid
in winning the first heat in round two of the women’s 100 metres in the evening session in 11.10 seconds, cruising the
last 20 metres to top Jamaican Veronica Campbell (11.18).
Two-time champion Gail Devers was fourth in
11.31, and Caribbean sprinters LaVerne Jones (11.44) of the US Virgin Islands, and Bahamian Chandra Sturrup (11.46) returning
from injury, were eliminated after placing sixth, and seventh respectively.
Lauryn Williams, the reigning Pan-Am Games champion,
sped to an 11.03
secs win in heat two, and advanced to the semis,
chased by Bulgaria’s Ivet Lalova (11.09) and Bahamian Commonwealth champion Debbie Ferguson (11.16).
Caribbean runners swept the top two spots in
heat three with Sherone Simpson, the quickest Jamaican this year at 11.01 seconds, winning in 11.09 ahead of her team-mate
Aleen Bailey (11.12), with Slovenia’s Jamaica-born 44-year-old Merlene Ottey (11.24) chasing in third sport.
Trinidad and Tobago’s national champion
Fana Ashby finished seventh in 11.54 seconds.
Vincentian Natasha Mayers, who suffered a hamstring
injury in the first round yesterday morning, scratched from the evening’s quarter-final race, heat four, in which Yuliya
Nesterenko, of Belarus, sped to a round-best 10.99 win, her second sub-11 clocking for the day.
CARICOM athletes registered three wins and were
generally prominent in the men’s 400-metre preliminaries.
Grenada’s World Indoor champion Alleyne
Francique kicked off the heats with a come-from-behind victory in the first race, getting past Jamaican Davian Clarke (45.54)
to win in 45.32 seconds.
“It was a nice relaxed run and this is
what I wanted. Tomorrow is going to be the fire, so you’ve got to conserve,” Francique told CMC Sport.
Francique, 28, is the world number one in the
event and said he is replacing pressure by thinking of the progress he has made to give the Spice Isle its first gold medal
candidate at the Olympic Games.
He played down the mental strain of the three-race
semi-final series today.
“No pressure, I am appreciative because
we’ve never reached so far and the whole country is behind me, and I am excited. I am just going out there relaxed and
have fun,” Francique said.
Chris Brown of the Bahamas was the fastest of
the evening in 45.09 seconds to win the second heat ahead of American Otis Harris, and Jamaica’s 2002 Commonwealth Games
champion Michael Blackwood landed heat seven with a strong lane eight run in 45.23 seconds.
“I wanted to make sure I make it to the
next step, which is tomorrow. I think I executed that well,” Blackwood said.
US champion Jeremy Wariner was a smooth winner
of heat six in 45.56, defeating the big German Ingo Schultz,
Russian Anton Galkin (45.43) won three, in which
T&T’s Modibo (46.29) was eliminated in fifth place.
Also failing to advance for the Caribbean was
Dominica’s Chris Lloyd, who clocked 47.98 for sixth in heat five, won by the Dominican Republic’s Carlos Santa
(45.31).
American winner Derrick Brew (45.41) and Jamaica’s
champion Brandon Simpson (45.61) cruised to the finish in taking the top two spots in heat four and the other heat winner
was Frenchman Les Djhone (45.40) in heat eight.
Three Caribbean entries advanced in the women’s
800 metres. Jamaica’s Michelle Ballentine, registering two minutes 01.52 seconds for third in heat three, was joined
by Suriname’s Letitia Vriesde (2:01.70) and Guyana’s Marian Burnett (2:02.12) in the next round of the two-lap
event while Dominica’s Marie-Lyn Joseph (2:20.23) was way off the mark.
Romania’s Maria Cioncan was the quickest
of the qualifiers
Blackman, Benjamin set new marks at GPF championship
… Guyana, Headquarters take overall titles
By Leeron Brumell
THE little drizzles at the
beginning of yesterday’s Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) 51st annual Track and Field championship was a sign that
competition would be hot on the final day, and so it was.
Police lead sprinter and distance athletes Andre Blackman
and Carla Benjamin, apart from being unbeaten in their events, broke and set new records of their own, while Guyana won the
international competition and Headquarters, the local competition.
Blackman started the day with victory in the ‘A’
class men’s 100 metres final and missed the record of 10.3 set by Carl Boyce in 1993 with a run of 10.39 seconds, Brennon
Thompson was second and Raymond Roach of Trinidad and Tobago third.
That set the scene for his record-breaking 200 metres run
of 20.98, shattering his 2001 mark of 21.3.
Thompson again placed second and Roach third.
Blackman then won the 400m race in a time of 1:00.00 with
R. Walcott second and Ray Fraser third. He also won the male 60 metres sprint race in 6.81.
It was also in the 400m that Carla Benjamin set the second
record of 1:02.72 erasing that 1998 mark of 1:08.61 set by Marian Burnett. K. Peters and S. Benjamin placed second and third
respectively.
Guyana, in winning the international competition, totalled
199 points ahead of Barbados on 65, Trinidad and Tobago 63 and St Lucia 36, while in the local competition, Headquarters who
had taken the lead after the second day of action, Wednesday, amassed 360, followed by ‘A’ division on 343, Country
on 177 and ‘B’ division 136.
In other results from the day Darren Allen won the 1500m
invitational cycling race, while Dianne Munroe won the Youth Club Members (YCM) female 100 and 200m relays while anchoring
her team to gold in the 4x100m relay.
Other outstanding performers on the day were Bevon Leitch
who won the male ‘B’ class 100, 200 and 400m races, and was a part of the winning 4x400m relay and the 4x100m
relay.
In the 100m races Charmane Clarke won the Police race, followed
by Corletta Fraser and C. Butcher. Beverley Selman won the female 100m invitational and national sprint champion Rawle Greene
won the male invitational in 10.45 seconds followed by Keith Roberts and Jamel Fields, while in the 200m races Derwin Eastman
won the YCM event in 21.86, Robyn Alleyne won the female invitational 200m ahead of baby sister Rondell with Sherma Mentore
taking third.
Roberts won the male 200m invitational ahead of Carlton
Bobb and Christoper Joseph in that order.
In the 400m divisions, Christopher Hall took the YCM event
in 50.97 ahead of Eastman and Bevon Young with Winston Sutherland taking the male invitational and Leanna Doris the female
invitational.
Shawn Sandiford won the male 800m, Alika Morgan the female,
while Cleveland Forde won the male 1500m invitational and Leanna Doris third.
In the relays, Headquarters won the female 4x100m and the
YCM division, with Country division taking the male and female Police relays and the combined foreign team of Trinidad and
Tobago, St Lucia and Barbados won the male ‘A’ class relay.
Headquarters also carted off the male 4x400m relay and the
800 female medley relay.
Novelty events on the day featured the commanders’
race, senior officers’ race, tug-o-war. Musical chairs with the horses, and the eat it, wear it and carry it race.
The championships started on Tuesday with the heats and
field events final.
The day was filled with action following the opening ceremony
with the march past of the teams at 10:00 hrs and before acting Minister of Home Affairs Gail Teixeira delivered the feature
address. The minister and the spectators were well entertained.
The teams were colourfully attired in red, blue, yellow,
white and gray just to name a few, and marched and performed to the rhythm of the Force’s orchestra.
The recruits of the Felix Austin Training College ended
the display with the spelling of the name ‘Felix’ - for this they lined their bodies on the ground to form the
letters and eventually the name.
‘A’ Division were declared the winners of the
march past, having secured 93 points while Country Division were the runners-up with 93 points.
Following Minister Teixeira’s address in which she
commended the Force for its work in putting together and pulling off another championship, while urging them to play the game
in the fairest manner.
Andre Blackman did the lighting of the championship torch.
file name Torch. (Quacy Sampson photos).
Mercurius strikes double gold…
Guyana top points table
By Leeron Brumell
DISTANCE runner Colin
Mercurius and Barbadian athlete Wesley Browne dominated second day action of the Guyana Police Force’s (GPF) Annual
Track & Field championships at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary, yesterday.
In the overall standings, Guyana are ahead on 159 points
followed by Barbados on 65, Trinidad and Tobago 38 and St Lucia 36, points, while in the divisional standings, Headquarters
have taken the lead from ‘A’ division with 172 with ‘B’ division in 78 and Country division 43 points.
Mercurius opened the day with an easy victory in the 10
000m, and followed it up with victory in the final event of the day - the 1500m, while Browne took the double in the Men’s
‘A’ class discus and javelin field events.
The 1500m had just four starters and after 700m, eventual
fourth place finisher Mark McAllister of ‘B’ division quickly faded and was left staggering behind, while Mercurius,
Dwayne Walcott and Paul Blake continued for a further 400m, until Blake was dropped.
Then came the bell to signal the final lap - Mercurius and
Walcott increased the pace almost to a sprint, but after 250m, Walcott gave up the battle to the seasoned national athlete
who cruised home unchallenged.
It was then that Blake made his move and caught Walcott
some 50m before the finish line to take the silver. Walcott finished third, while Mercurius’ winning time was recorded
as 4:28.50.
In the first event of the day, Mercurius claimed an easy
win in the 10 000m with Damien Blackman second and McAllister third.
Browne showed his superiority for another year running in
the throwing events when he first claimed the Men’s ‘A’ class javelin event with a best throw of 48.64m,
followed by Kevin Bonnett with 45.50m, while Desron Alfred of St Lucia finished third with 45.30m.
The Bajan then won the discus event with a distance of 37.38m,
followed by Alfred with a 32.26m throw and Keizer third with a throw of 29.04m.
In other results, Guyana’s female leading athlete
Carla Benjamin ran a comical 1500m final, which only included two other athletes.
Benjamin seeming to be keeping the athletes company crawled
at snail’s pace then gave what was supposed to be a sprint finish to the end with Marlyn Rodney second and Tasha Tappin
third.
In the field events, Josiah won the Men’s ‘B’
division javelin with a throw of 39.20m, followed by Massiah of Country division and Glasgow third, while Trinidad & Tobago’s
Joycelyn Huggins successfully defended her triple throwing crown when she won the Women’s javelin with a throw of 25.64m,
followed by Adriana Headley of Barbados in second and Lewis of Guyana third.
In the lone jumping event of the day, Marlyn Rodney won
the Women’s triple jump with a distance of 7.90m, followed by Karen Cort and Tasha Tappin third.
The championships conclude tomorrow with the finals in the
100m, 200m and 400m sprint races and the relays. Today is a rest day.
Before action heats up however, at 10:00 hrs acting Minister
of Home Affairs Gail Teixeira will take the salute of the march past and deliver the feature address.
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Guyana police athletes trump region
By Michael DaSilva
Saturday, August 28th 2004 |
 |
Guyana Police retained their regional title while Headquarters won the local inter-division title of the Guyana Police
Force's 51st Annual Track and Field Championships which concluded yesterday at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.
According to official results, the local law officers registered 199 points to retain their regional title ahead of Barbados
Police Force which ended with 65 points. Trinidad and Tobago Police Force placed third with 63 points while St. Lucia ended
in the cellar of the international competition with 36 points.
In the local competition, Headquarters finished at the top of the points standing with 360 points. They were followed by
`A' Division with 343 points while Country and `B' Divisions placed third and fourth with 177 and 136 points respectively.
Trinidad's Joycelyn Huggins won the `Best Female' award while Barbados' Wesley Browne won the `Best Male' award. Both awards
were in the international category.
Both Huggins and Browne won the shot-put, discus and javelin events in the women's and men's categories respectively. Up
to press time, Stabroek Sport was unable to get the best local male and female winners.
However, Headquarters' Colin Mercurius won the men's 1500, 5000 and 10,000-metre races and should have no problem claiming
the `Best Local Athlete' title. In selected results from yesterday's final day action, Andre Blackman returned 10.39 seconds
in winning the men's `A' Class 100-metre race from team mate Brennon Thompson (10.60) and Trinidad's Roynon Roach (10.97)
while headquarters' Bevon Leach returned 11.08 seconds when he won the inter-division male 100-metres from Country Division's
B. David and Michael Nolan respectively.
In the male 100-metre invitational, Rawle Greene clocked 10.45 seconds in winning from Keith Roberts and Jemel Fields respectively,
while on the distaff side, B. Selman won in a time of 12.61 seconds from Marcia Mentore and Monica Roberts respectively.
The `A' Class 400-metres was won by Blackman in a time of one minute flat. Second was R. Walcott and third Ray Fraser.
Al three top finishers are from Guyana.
Blackman also won the men's 200-metre `A' Class. He recorded a time of 20.98 seconds. Second was Thompson and third Trinidad's
Rayman Roach.
The women's 400-metres was won by headquarters' Carla Benjamin in one minute 2.72 seconds. Second was `A' Division's K.
Peters while headquarters' S. Benjamin finished third.
On the distaff side, headquarters' Bevon Leitch won with a time of 51.58 seconds while team mate Larry Josiah and `A' Division's
Odel Percival placed second and third respectively.
In the two invitational 400-metre races, Leanna Doris won the women's race from Rondel Alleyne and Janet Rollins while
in the male category, Winston Sutherland won from Kewsi Roach and Carlton Bobb. Charmaine Clarke of `C' Division won the women's
200-metres from headquarters' Carlotta Fraser and `A' Division's A. Thomas.
On the distaff side, Leitch won from `C' Division's B. Davis and M. Newland.
The 200-metres Police Youth Club Members event was won by Dianne Munroe in a time of 24.96. Second place went to Leslyn
Major while Stacy Smith placed third.
Leanna Doris won the women's 1500-metre invitational event from Malika Morgan and C. Shabbaz respectively while Clevland
Forde won the men's 1500-metre invitational race from his Rising Stars' club mate Kelvin Johnson. Lionel D'Andrade placed
third. |
Police track and field
Guyana ahead of Barbados by 94 points
By Michael DaSilva
Thursday, August 26th 2004 |
|
Guyana Police Force (GPF) extended its lead in the points standing of the Annual Regional Police Track and Field Championships
which climaxes tomorrow at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary.
According to official results, GPF leads the points tally with 159 points, 94 points ahead of their closest rivals Barbados
(65). Trinidad and Tobago and St. Lucia are still struggling on 38 and 36 points respectively.
In the local inter-division championships, Headquarters have so far registered 189 points, 17 more than arch rivals `A'
Division (172), while `B' and Country Divisions are on 78 and 43 points respectively.
Yesterday, Headquarters' Colin Mercurius added the men's 10,000 and 1,500 metres titles to the men's 5,000 metres title
he won on the opening day (Tuesday), making him a candidate for the `Champion Male Athlete' award.
On the distaff side, Carla Benjamin who won the ladies 800-metre race on Tuesday, won the ladies 1500-metre event yesterday.
She too is in contention for an overall award.
In yesterday's men's 10,000-metre race, Mercurius joined the early race leader and eventual second-placed finisher Damien
`Scientist' Blackman at the 200-metre mark, but moved away from him after 400 metres. Thereafter, the former national middle-distance
athlete distanced himself from the other three starters and went on to lap the second and third-placed finisher (Mark McCallister)
three times while the eventual fourth-placed finisher Clifton Thom was lapped four times before Mercurius won the race.
In other results, `A' Division's Marlyn Rodney won the women's triple jump after hopping, skipping and jumping 7.90 metres.
Second place went to former top sprinter Karen Cort (Headquarters) who registered 7.10 metres, while `A' Division's Tasha
Tappin finished third with 6.30 metres.
In the men's `A' Class discus event, Barbados' Wesley Browne won with a throw of 37.38 metres. Second place went to St.
Lucia's Desmond Alfred who threw 32.16 metres while R. Keizer of Guyana finished third with a throw of 29.04 metres.
Browne also won the men's `A' Class javelin with a throw of 48.64 metres. Second was Guyana's Kevin Bonnett (45.50) while
Alfred placed third (43.30).
Trinidad's Joycelyn Huggins who won the female shot put on Tuesday, came back yesterday to win the javelin event with a
throw of 25.64 metres. Barbados' Antonia Headley placed second with a throw of 23.16 metres.
In the men's `B' Class javelin, Headquarters' L. Josiah won with a throw of 39.20 metres. Country Division's L. Massiah
was second with 38.24 metres while `B' Division's B. Glasgow placed third with 36.92 metres.
Headquarters' Paul Black was second in the men's 1,500-metres while Dwayne Walcott finished third. Walcott won the event
in 28.50 seconds.
Today being the rest day, the championships will conclude tomorrow at the same venue. The march past will be taken at 10am. |
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Police track and field
Guyana ahead on 34 points
By Michael DaSilva
Wednesday, August 25th 2004 |
|
Defending champions Guyana Police Force leads the points standing after three events in the police Annual Track and Field
Championships, which got underway at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve Leary yesterday.
The local law officers have so far registered 34 points, while St Lucia and Barbados are tied on 14 points each. Trinidad
and Tobago is currently in the cellar with ten points from one victory.
In the local inter-division championships, arch rivals Headquarters and `A' Division are locked in a tight battle for top
honours.
After nine finals, `A' Division leads with 79 points, followed closely by Headquarters on 74 points. Country and `B' Divisions
occupy the third and fourth places with 34 and seven points respectively.
Winning for Guyana were Kevin Bonnett (men's high jump) and P. Walcott (men's 800 metres), while Joycelyn Huggins won the
ladies' shot put event for Trinidad and Tobago.
St Lucia's Desmond Alfred and Barbados' Martin Jones placed second and third respectively to Bonnett in the men's high
jump, while Guyana's A. Black and Alfred were second and third respectively to Walcott in the men's 800m race.Barbados' Antonia
Headley and Guyana's Amanda Hermanstine were second and third respectively to Huggins in the shot put.
In the local inter-division championship, national distance athlete Colin Mercurius (Headquarters) made light work of his
opposition in the men's 5000m race, winning by approximately 320m from his team mate Damien `Scientist' Blackman. The third
place finisher Paul Black (Headquarters) was a further 620m away when Mercurius crossed the finish line.
From the start of the race, Mercurius took up his position at the head of affairs, and after staying with the other nine
starters for the first 200m, Mercurius changed gear and started to distance himself from the rest of the field.
After completing 1000m, Mercurius enjoyed a 40m lead from Blackman. This lead increased to 130m after 2200m, then to 190m
after 3400m.
With two laps remaining, Mercurius lapped Paul Black for a second time and went on to win in a common canter.
In other selected events, L. Josiah of Headquarters won the men's `B' Class 800m event from `A' Division's D. Forrester
and R. Sinclair (Headquarters) respectively. On the distaff side, Carla Benjamin (Headquarters) was an easy winner. Second
place went to T. Tappin while M. Rodney occupied the third spot.
In the men's race, Josiah went to the front from the start and received the bell for the last lap 20m ahead of the others
and went on to win by 50m from Forrester.
In the ladies equivalent, Benjamin stayed with the other three starters for the first lap, but on the sound of the bell,
she went into overdrive and won with 120m in hand.
Orette Bentick (`A' Division) won the men's `B' Class high jump from Adrian Craig and Sidwell Fredricks respectively, while
Donna April won the Police Youth Club Members' girls' 800m from S. Mentore and M. Mentore respectively.
The women's 3000m did not come off since there were only two athletes registered for the event.
The championships will continue today at the same venue beginning at 9.30 am. Thirty three events are carded on the day's
programme.
Tomorrow being a rest day, the finals will commence at 10 am on Friday. |
Pompey wins gold to break Guyana's 68-year medal drought
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Aliann Pompey ended a 68-year drought for Guyana
athletics when she won the women's 400 metres title at the Commonwealth Games yesterday.
The 24-year-old held on to beat
Scotland's Lee McConnell in a thrilling finish to claim her country's first Commonwealth Games athletics gold medal since
Phil Edwards won the 880 yard (half mile) event for British Guiana at London in 1934.
Pompey's historic moment came when
she dipped across the line in 51.63 seconds, just 0.05 ahead of the fast-finishing McConnell, who
only switched from the
high jump a year ago.
Jamaica's defending champion Sandie Richards clocked 51.79 to claim the bronze.
``That was hard.
I didn't know what to expect,'' Pompey said. ``I was praying all night, praying to God that he would give me something to
work with.''
The race was thrown wide open after Australia's Olympic champion Cathy Freeman chose to run only in the relay
while other title hopefuls like England's Katherine Merry pulled out.
``I felt the race was wide open and anything could
happen, Pompey said. ``I thought it was possible to win, but you didn't really know
for sure.''
The men's race was
even tighter with just 0.06 separating the first four across the line.
Jamaica's Michael Blackwood was awarded the gold
in a personal best of 45.07 with Canada's Shane Niemi second in 45.09 and Avard Moncur
of Bahamas, the reigning world
champion, taking the bronze in 45.12, just 0.01 in front of England's Daniel Caines.
``I'm very happy right now. I just
did it one step at a time and the final has gone my way,'' said Blackwood. ``The aim for my career now
is to be the number
one athlete in the world.''
Forde places third
overall, wins U-20 category at St Lucia 10K
Stabroek News (9/12/03)
Top local middle-distance athlete Clevland Forde finished
first
among the under-20's and third overall in the just concluded Cara
Suites, 10K Men's Classic Road race in St.
Lucia on Sunday.
According to Forde's manager, Leslie Black, the 2003 Junior Carifta
Games 5000-metre gold medalist
defeated defending champion Curtis
Cox of Trinidad and Tobago and returned 31 minutes, 40 seconds for
the event which
was won by an American in 30 minutes, 58 seconds.
The Caribbean's leading marathon runner Palmenos Ballantyne of St.
Vincent
placed second in 31 minutes, 12 seconds.
Forde's compatriots Lionel D'Anrade and Kelvin Johnson finished
ninth and
tenth respectively.
According to Black who accompanied Forde to St. Lucia, when the 60
starters were sent off, Cox,
Ballantyne, the American, Forde,
Johnson and D'Andrade were with the leading bunch of ten runners.
Half way through
the race, Forde positioned himself behind
Ballantyne who was being headed by the American.
With approximately one mile
remaining, Cox overtook Forde but the
Guyanese fought back and went ahead of Cox at the 800-metre mark,
while Ballantyne
was a mere 20 metres ahead of him (Forde) and the
American a further 30 metres up front.
Black said Forde kept closing
in on Ballantyne, but the Vincentian
held on and crossed the line ahead of Forde.
"We were very confident of winning
the race but we are satisfied
with third overall," Black told Stabroek Sport.
Black pointed out that the St. Lucia
terrain is very hilly and that
made the race tougher but Forde is pleased with his performance. "He
(Forde) feels
he can beat Ballantyne the next time they meet in a
10K event," Black said. feel it was one of his (Forde) best races,"
Black stated.
According to Black, Forde has been invited to participate in another
road race in Martinique next
month.
Black said himself and his family accompanied Forde to lend support
which he feels is necessary if an athlete
is to perform at his best.
Black would like to thank the following individuals and companies
for their financial support,
thereby making the trip to St. Lucia
possible: New Line Aqua farm, Gafoor's, Nigel's Supermarket, M.
Beepat and Son's,
Director of Sports Neil Kumar, Stabroek News and
the Guyana Telephone and Telegraph Company.
Pompey placed 5th in her heat
Commonwealth Champion and National record holder fail to advance
to the semi-finals after placing fifth in her 400m heat. The heat was won by 2001 World 400m runner Jamaican Lorraine Fenton.
| Heat 4 - Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 11:38 |
|
 |
Blackman placed 7th in his heat
Running in his first major international competition, Andre Blackman
finished 7th in his heat and did not qualify for the quarter finals.
| Heat 9 - Sunday, August 24, 2003 - 16:26 |
Wind: 0.9m/s |
|
Commonwealth 400 metres gold medalist Alian Pompey and Andre Blackman have been selected to represent Guyana at the World
Championships which started in Paris, France yesterday.
Pompey who has officially qualified for the games will contest
the 400 metre sprint event while Blackman will face starter in the 100 metres.
A release from the Amateur Athletic Association
stated that Blackman is the unqualified male and can only contest one event.
He was selected as the best unqualified male
athlete from a field of three, which included Tai Payne and Clyde Gibson. Pan Am Games silver medalist Marian Burnett will
not be participating in the World Championships since she did not qualify and the International Association of Athletics Federations
(IAAF) rule state that there must be a male and female representing the country, the release continued.
Blackman left
Guyana on Tuesday for Stade de France (the games village) where he was joined by Pompey.
AAA president Claude Blackmoore
is also scheduled to be in Paris for the world congress which is being during the same period and will stay on as Manager/Coach.
The World Champion-ships conclude on August 31. The team is expected back home on September 2.
Burnett and Pompey take track tally to five...As Guyana finishes 21st in 2003 PanAm medal table
By Lawrie Lockhart
The
performances at the 2003 Pan American Games are now into the history books with Guyana ending up tied 21st on the 42-nation
medal table. Its two medals won in track events by Marian Burnett (800m silver) and Aliann Pompey (400m bronze) are similar
to the tally secured by Grenada in that countrys first-ever medal(s) win at these Games. Guyana which was the last of the
42 countries to pre-register athletes for the Games, according to COPAN - the Games Organising Committee, achieved no other
top-5 positions from its four other competitors in boxing, swimming and weightlifting. Its original pre-registered list of
21 athletes (14 men, 7 women) for five sports was eventually dropped to seven (4 men, 3 women) in 4 disciplines, with one
athlete being a no-show.
The two medals in Santo Domingo have now taken the countrys overall track and field tally at the Pan American Games to
five, with the new additions coming 24 years after the last medal was draped around a Guyanese runners neck.
Since the
quadrennial sports spectacle began in 1951, Guyana has won two medals in mens events and three on the distaff side. A breakdown
shows that the South American nation secured the five medals through four athletes in three distinct individual distances
(200m, 400m and 800m) at three separate meets.
The first medal came in 1975 by way of Guyanas first and only gold which
was won in the Mens 200m by James Wren Gilkes - the then world leader - in an astounding 20.43s. A year later, the flying
Guyanese saw the chance of scoring his countrys first track medal at the Olympics evaporate when the Guyana government joined
a deep field of nations boycotting the Montreal Summer Games in an asserting anti-apartheid protest. Then in 1979, Gilkes
came back to add a second medal for Guyana a silver in the half lap.
At that same meet, June Marcia Griffith earned Guyanas
first medal in a Womens event. Through a controversial decision, she was forced to settled for the silver after a 51.81s dead-heat
photo-finish with the eventual gold medalist of the 400m.
Since that final year of the 70s, it took Guyana almost a quarter
of a century for teammates Burnett and Pompey to grow from infants to full women, before its flag was raised at the medal
podium.
Pompey, the 2002 Commonwealth Games (CWG) 400m champion produced a come-from-behind burst to finish third in the
one lap in 52.06s. Two days earlier, Burnett had initially earned bronze with a similar late overdrive run in the half-mile.
However, six days later she was elevated to join Gilkes and Griffith as silver medalists, after a positive drug test docked
the first place finisher.
Coincidentally, all four athletes were domiciled in the U.S. pursuing academic studies and specialised
training when they won those medals. While Guyanas tally is not as impressive as nationals would have wanted, it is still
a source of pridet since many of the 42 nations have, now, recorded track medals or are yet to touch one. The Pan Am Games
is viewed as second to the Olympics in its sheer organization and presentation magnitude, as well as level of performances.
Meanwhile, in the unique IAAFs World Ranking system characterized by stringent competition and performance yardsticks,
Pompey and Burnett are listed at #18 and #31 at their respective events. The 2003 rankings were updated on August 20th, and
tallies the athletes through specially allocated points garnered from head-on contests with other world class athletes on
the lists.
Both Guyanese used the season to, first, rewrite the Indoor records for their country. In the Indoor 400m list
Pompey, who had an early-season world-leading time, stood at #14 with a best of 52.17 (Feb. 28th, New York). Burnett was at
#44 with a time of 2:04.57 (Feb. 9th, Florida). Her time was a season best for women on U.S. soil, at the time.
This year,
Burnett has also lowered her personal best (PB) on two occasions; first on May 17th in Oregon (2:02.29) and then on July 7th
in Zagreb, Croatia (2:01.71). Pompey has the national 400m record (51.34) from last years CWG in England, and would be looking
to improve on that at this years World Championships in France.
For track and field, Guyana is in the enviable positions
of competing in more international meets at the regional and global levels than practically every other nation. These include
the Olympics, World Championships, World Cup of Athletics, PanAm Games, Commonwealth Games, and the Central American and Caribbean
meets. Through the 13-nation South American Athletics Confederation (CONSULDATLE), it is involved in South American meets,
as well, and several of its past and current trackstars, including the PanAm medalists, are in the top-10 in their respective
events.
For the 2003 Indoor season, Pompey is ranked #2 on the 400m list with her 51.48s performance on June 15th in Varsovia.
She is edged by Brazilian Geisha Aparecida Muniz Coutinhos 51.44s. Burnett is also at #2 in the 800m from her Zagreb performance,
which fits her one position below the 2:00.98 recorded by Brazils 2003 PanAm bronze medalist Christiane Ritz dos Santos.
In
the All-Time Outdoor ranking for CONSULDALTE countries, Pompey is at #4 following her 2002 CWG run, while Griffith is listed
at #5 (51.37s, May,1979 in North Carolina) and Burnett completes the 400m top-10 list in that position, while her preferred
event (800m) has her at #9. Pompey returns in the All-Time Indoor category at #2, with Griffith following at #3 (52.88s at
the same venue of her outdoor PB). The latter, a stalwart sprinter of the 70s who is a Senior Medical Services Administrator
in California, also has a #6 position in the long jump at 6.25m (Jan., 1975 in Long Beach). Burnett has two more top-10 classifications,
being at #4 at both the permanent Indoor 800m list, as well as the permanent Indoor mile list with the latter ranking scoring
her 5:02.01 (Jan.,2001 in Coxe Cage). Gilkes 10.19s done in Ingelheim, Sept.12, 1978 puts him at #10 on CONSULDATLE All-Time
Outdoor 100m list. His 20.14s in the same year (1978) for the half lap is #3 behind leader Brazilian Claudinei Quirinode Silvas
19.89s that was done 21 years later.
Gilkes whose 51st birthday comes up mid next month, is regarded as Guyanas best-ever
track and field performer, and is among the top-30 male sprinters over the past 100 years. He along with Burnett and Pompey
hold national records in various events. Gilkes for Mens Indoor 100m, 200m and Outdoor 100m, 200m and 4x100m. Pompey holds
Outdoor 200m and 400m, as well as Indoor 400m, 500m and 600m. Burnett has Outdoor 800m, and Indoor 800m, mile, 3000m and 5000m.
UG Athletes crash out of 100 metres
By Sydney Christophe
Beverly Selman and Rory Forde, Guyanas athletes at the 22nd Universiade in Daegu
city, South Korea, crashed out of the 100-metre event on Monday at the Main Stadium. Selman, who suffered a muscle strain
during the warm-up phase before her race, ran gamely but just could not keep up with the other finishers. Sprinter Forde
made a gallant attempt to reach the second round of the competition but had to settle for sixth spot in a top- class field.
Just after her race Selman was taken to the First Aid department at the stadium where she was later referred to the Medical
complex at the athletes village. Tests revealed that she had suffered a muscle avulsion, which caused spasms in her muscles. It
was disappointment for the athletes, who were planning to at least get past this first stage en route to possible medals.
I am very disappointed about what has transpired, Selman who had a personal best of 11.25s later said. I worked hard
before the race, but I guess this is just not my time, the sprinter said. It is doubtful whether she will recover enough
to run the 200- metre qualifying heat, which starts today at the same venue. Forde felt he could have ran better, but sees
this experience as a vital one on the road to success in the future. I am just glad for this experience to compete against
top class runners he said. Meanwhile, 22-yr-old Chris Lambert of Great Britain and 21-yr-old Qin Wangping of China won
the men and womens 100- metre events respectively. Lambert, a Harford University student clocked a relatively slow time
of 10.44 secs to win ahead of Julius Leigh (South Africa ) and Dejan Vojnovic (Croatia). Wangping crossed the finish line
in 11.54 secs beating archrival Eniko Szabo of Hungary and Elena Bolsun of Russia.
Burnett award Pan Am Silver Medal
(8/13/03)
SANTO DOMINGO (AFP)
- Guyana National Record Holder Marian Burnett was awarded the 800m silver medal at the recently concluded Pan Am Games when
Veteran Surinam athlete Letitia Vriesde was stripped of her 800m Pan American Games gold medal after she failed a drugs test,
the organizers announced. Surinam's Vriesde tested positive
for caffeine after her victory on Wednesday.
"I can't be happy about this - it makes me very sad," said president
of the organizing committee Mario Vasquez Rana earlier on Sunday when he announced that the Games had revealed its first drugs
test failure. The 38-year-old Vriesde is the only female South American athlete ever to have won a world championship medal.
She won silver in Gothenborg in 1995 and a bronze in Edmonton
in 2001. She also picked up a bronze at the world indoor championships in Barcelona
in 1995. As a result of Vriesde's dope test failure, Adriana Munoz of Cuba
has been declared the new winner of the 800m with Burnett of capturing the silver medal.
Burnett becomes the second women to capture the silver medal joining
June Marcia Griffith (400m dash, 1979) as the highest female finisher for Guyana
at the Pan Am Games.
In the history of the games, Guyana
has captured a total of five medals (two male and three female).
James Gilkes won the first and only gold medal for Guyana
in 200m in 1975 with a time of 20.43w. He came back four years later to add Guyana's
second and last men's medal when he took second in the 200m dash.
June Marcia Griffith earn Guyana's first female medal in 1979
with a deal heat photo finish 400m dash in a time of 51.81 for both the winner and the runner up.
Burnett thought she has captured the second medal a bronze medal
with her time of 2:03.58, however she was award the silver when her neighbor was disqualified.
Commonwealth 400m Champion Aliann Pompey added to the total with
her bronze medal performance (52.06) two nights later.
Pompey and Burnett will only have to wait another two years unlike
Gilkes and Griffith to possibility adds to the total.
University athletes off to Universiade Games (8/17/03)
A THREE-MEMBER athletics contingent of the University of Guyana left
yesterday
for the Universiade Games in South Korea.
The touring party for the two-week meet in Daegu City consists of
sprinters
Rory Forde and Beverly Selman under manager/coach Sydney
Christophe.
The athletes were selected based on the performances
at the UG annual
Athletics championships staged earlier this year.
Selman was a clear winner in the 100 and 200m
sprints while Forde
enjoyed a comfortable 100m victory on a then extremely `shabby' track
on the Turkeyen Campus playfield.
The
23-year-old Selman of the Royal Youth Movement recently returned
from a training stint in Barbados, which she hopes will
greatly
improve her performance in South Korea.
She is confident of placing in the top three in her events.
"I
will perform very well, especially in the 100m event which I have
focused my training on, but I also expect to do well
in the 200m
race," Selman said.
Selman, who graduated in 2002 from UG with a Degree in Business
Management,
has a personal best time on 11.25 seconds, which she
recorded at the Linden invitational meet, when she placed third.
For
a good placing, Selman believes her reaction to the gun will be
the deciding factor. She is usually late out of the blocks
and has
been working hard on her start. She blames her reaction time for the
third place finish in Linden.
Selman
may also compete in the Long Jump, but that will be confirmed
when she is in South Korea.
Forde, 21 years of age,
is currently pursuing a degree in Civil
Engineering at the University and has a personal best time of 10.70
seconds
in the 100m, the event upon which he has focused the majority
of his training life. He is confident of making the semifinals
and
hopes to advance straight to the final, which he recognises as a
difficult task.
The former head-prefect
of the Bishops' High School is also scheduled
to contest the 200m, an event in which he has recorded a personal
best
time of 21.9 seconds, while completing his sixth form GCE `A'
Levels education.
The Games venue is high in the
mountains and the greater altitude can
affect one's breathing pattern and warm-ups.
"I'm not worried about the
altitude, everyone knows a higher altitude
means better times my events are aerobic, not much breathing is
required
for them, I can adapt to the conditions," Forde said.
The Atoms Athletic Club athlete's only concerned is `jet lag'
because
the team will be travelling for some 36 hours.
Forde expressed thanks to the management of the Studio 2000
gym,
which was offering him a free training stint over the past few months
of his weight training.
Christophe
is also confident that the athletes will give good account
of themselves when they take to the track.
Some 11 000
athletes, officials and media personnel from 170
countries are expected to be the games which run from August 21-31.
The
team is expected back on September 2, 2003.
Blackmore on SAACs competition committee (8/14/03)
PRESIDENT of the Amateur Athletic Association of Guyana (AAAG)
Claude Blackmore
has been elected as a member of the Competition
Committee of the South American Athletic Confederation.
Blackmore,
who was recently elected to the position while at the
2003 Congress in Ecuador, is happy with the position since it paves
the way for future development of the local association.
Patricio Smith of Chile will chair his committee, while
Juan Alberto
Scarpin of Argentina, Marco Luque of Bolivia and Carlos Alberta
Cavalheiro of Brazil are the other committee
members.
Administration and Regulation committees were also elected at the
congress. Regulations will be chaired
by Ciro Solano of Columbia
while Administration has as its chairman Eduardo Nicolas Bernal of
Argentina. Both committees
are made up of a chairman and four
members.
The committees, elected for the first time this year, will perform
duties until 2007 since recommendations regarding the constitution
were made at the 2002 Congress in Paraguay and
amendments were sent
to the International Amateur Athletic Federation (IAAF) for them to
be ratified.
Twelve
of the thirteen-member federation were present at the
Congress with the Suriname Swim Bond being the lone absentee for
the
second consecutive congress.
Blackmore and Cavalheiro have already visited the Andre Campaveen
Stadium
in Paramaribo, Suriname, to make recommendations for hosting
track and field meets.
He said the Suriname Football
Federation is controlling the stadium
and it facilitates football, athletics and cycling. The stadium has
a grass
surface.
He said plans would be made to stage a track and field meeting at
the venue, once the necessary recommendations
are made. (Leeron
Brumell).
Speaking to Stabroek Sport yesterday, Pompey said she has already made the qualifying standard for the World Championships
and thinks she can do Guyana proud.
With regards to her coach accompanying her to France, Pompey said Amateur Athletic
Association of Guyana president Claude Blackmoore has promised to get her coachs accreditation for the meet providing he (coach)
pays his way to Paris.
Hes already done that and I think him being there would help a lot. Ill have his expertise and
guidance and I think it would help tremendously. Ill be able to focus better and correct any little glitches that still may
be there Pompey related.
Asked if she stands a chance of securing Guyanas first World Championship medal, Pompey replied
Im excited about it and think good things can happen.
Pompey who won the 2002 Commonwealth Games womens 400-metre gold
medal and followed up last week with a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, will come up against
stiff opposition in Mexicos defending world champion Ana Guevara who won the Pan American gold in 50.36 seconds. Grenadas
Cheryl Ann Clarke had placed second and Pompey third.
Asked what went wrong in Santo Domingo last week, Pompey said I got
out slow and had to work really hard to finish third. At the 300-350-metre mark I still had five people ahead of me, and over
the last 30 metres it was a real fight in the end but I got third.
Pompey who clocked 52.23 seconds in placing third said
she would have liked a better time, but she still is happy to get to the podium.
My coach was a little disappointed with
my time, and feel as I do, that I can run much faster Pompey stated.
When she won the Commonwealth gold medal last year
in Manchester, England, Pompey had returned 51.34 seconds.
Meanwhile, another US-based Guyanese athlete, Marian Burnette,
is currently in Europe where she hopes to make the qualifying standard for the World Championships.
Burnette who won Guyanas
first medal (bronze) at this years Pan American Games had told Stabroek Sports last week that she needs to register two minutes
01.30 seconds to make the `B class qualifying mark for the World.
Her personal best for the 800 metres is 2:01.71 which
she clocked at a meet in Croatia on July 7.
The `A Class qualifying standard is 2:00.
When she ran the womens 800m
last week in Santo Domingo, Burnette was beaten by Surinames Letitia Vriesdeis (2:02.92) and Cubas Adriana Munoz (2:02.96)
respectively. Burnette's time was 2:03.58.
Pompey
grabs Bronze in 400m (8/9/03)
Guyana's
Aliann Pompey gave Guyana a second medal at the 2003 Pan
American Games in Santo Domingo by placing third in the final of the
women's 400-metre last night.
Speaking
to Stabroek Sport by telephone last night, Marian Burnette
who
won Guyana's first 2003 Pan Am medal by placing third in the
women's
800-metre said Pompey got out of her blocks (lane six) and
was
doing well in the early part of the race, but appeared to be
hurting
in the latter stages.
"She was doing well until the final
100 metres, but with about the
final 30 metres left, she
was fifth and really dug in to get back
among the medals"
Burnette disclosed.
According to Burnette, the event was won
by Mexican world champion
Ana Guevara. Second place went
to Grenada's Hazel Ann Clarke.
Burnette said Pompey returned 52.02 seconds in placing third, while
Guevara clocked 50 odd seconds and Clarke, 51 seconds.
In her semi-final heat on Thursday night, Pompey who won a gold medal
for Guyana at last year's Commonwealth Games in England, registered
52.23 seconds, while Guevara clocked 52.22 seconds in her heat.
See tomorrow's edition for more details.
Meanwhile,
boxer Rayon O'Neil will be in action tonight at 8 pm. He
is billed to face
a Puerto Rican opponent. (Mike DaSilva)
Blackman,
Benjamin reign supreme (8/9/03)
Headquarters
retain local title
four records
shattered
By Leeron Brumell
SEASONED athletes Andre Blackman and Carla Benjamin took top honours
as the 50th annual Guyana Police Force (GFP) athletics championships
ended with a bang yesterday at the Police Sports Club ground, Eve
Leary.
Blackman claimed victories in
the 60, 100, 200 and 400m police ranks
events, while Benjamin
took the spoils in the 400, 800 and 1500m
events.
The short Blackman made his mark in the 400m event with a winning
time of 49.2 secs, erasing the 51.2 held by Ray Fraser since 1998. He
also equalled his 200m mark with a 21.3 secs time previously set in
2000, while he missed breaking the 100m record by one tenth of a
second.
Benjamin
was tied with C. James on 30 points for the champion title
but
was declared winner because of her 400m record of 1:02:03. Marian
Burnett
set the previous mark in 1998 with a time of 1:08:61.
The
female HQ ranks clocked 56.90 secs in the `A' class and 1:02:03
in the `B' to
shatter records in 4x100m races.
In other results, Trevor
Scotland with 30 points was the male youth
club champion
while Dianne Monroe copped the female title. In the `B'
class
B. Leitch took the title for the men and L. Kennedy for the
women.
M. Modette was the best overseas athlete.
Headquarters
defended their 2001 `B' class title to take a commanding
lead
of 465 points, to be followed by `A' division with 325, `B' 220
and
Country 182.
Guyana
won the `A' class with 180 points ahead of the only overseas
team, Grenada, with 76 points.
In
the hottest events of the day Blackman defeated Brennon Thompson
and Othneil Lewis in the 60, 100 and 200m races in that order
throughout, while Keith Roberts sprinted away with the 100 and 200
metres invitational crowns.
He was
followed by Kester Bonett in second and Christopher Joseph in
third
while in the 200 Joseph was second and C. Bobb, third.
Scotland defeated Seon Forde of Country division and K. Abel in the
200m, and took a comfortable 400m victory.
Young Jennifer Chichester and Cleveland Forde comfortably won their
respective 1500m invitational events.
Musical chairs for the mounted horsemen, obstacle races for officers
in training and tug-o-war events were also on the cards to give the
spectators a full day of enjoyment.
Minister
of Culture, Youth and Sport Ms Gail Teixeira earlier in the
day
declared the championship open after congratulating the Force on
doing a fine job of bridging the gap between the Force and the public.
Minister also called on the Force to make the championship a major
part of Guyana's sporting calendar.
She noted that they have contributed significantly to the development
of the youths in the country and also encouraged them to continue
their good work in the sporting arena.
Minister
Teixeira, along with Minister of Home Affairs Ronald Gajraj,
other
senior officers, ranks, and a jam-packed stand were treated to
a
colourful march past by the teams decked in yellow, white, red,
green,
all shades of blue, orange, gray and black. The BV/Triumph
majorettes
did a medley display and the orchestra dazzled and
entertained
with their melodious sounds and creative marching.
Special
Constabulary won the best-outfitted title, while Tactical
Services
Unit (TSU) were the runner-up team.
The championship torch
was set alight after being carried some three
hundred metres
by a four-member relay team.
The championship started
on Tuesday August 5 and concluded yesterday.
It was not
staged last year because of the upsurge of criminal
activities
in the country.
Burnett
dedicates Bronze to all Guyana (8/9/03)
By Lawrie
Lockhart
and Frederick Halley
One month after lowering the national 800 metres record for the
second time in one season, track ace Marian Joan Burnett engraved her
name, again, in the sporting history books of Guyana with an historic
bronze medal run on Wednesday evening at the current XIV Pan American
Games in the Dominican Republic.
The Guyanese
middle- distance star turned in another of her trademark
gutsy
performances to score her country's first track medal at these
Games
since 1975 - before she was even born. Following on her semi-
final
third place finish the night before, Burnett delivered on her
potential,
but finished half a second short of the top two medals.
Contesting
the Women's 800m on the second night of track and field
competition
at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Stadium, "she came from
almost
second to last to get the bronze in 2 mins, 03.58s and that's
a
morale booster for the others to follow," said acting Chef-de-
mission
and substantive boxing manager Terrence Poole.
Poole who is
substituting as leader of the Guyanese contingent in the
absence of original designee Charles Corbin, told this newspaper by
telephone that the petite athlete "showed a lot of guts to come back
so good after her momentum was disturbed."
In
a driving finish, she placed behind defending champion Letitia
Vriesde
of Suriname (2:02.92) and 2003 Cuban national middle-distance
champion Adriana Munoz (2:02.96).
The Guyanese swooshed past the challenges of Brazilian champion
Christiane Ritz; Cuba's 2-time CAC Games champion Yanelis Lara;
Luciana Mendes of Brazil; Barbados' champion Sheena Gooding and U.S.
Olympian and NCAA record-holder Hazel Clark.
The diminutive athlete was involved in a jolting mid-race pushing and
shoving mix-up with two other runners when she attempted to prevent
herself from being `boxed-in' in the inner lane. She escaped by first
running off the track then onto the outer lanes several inches from
the other competitors. Burnett said she experienced a similar
situation in her semi-final, and lost valuable time and rhythm. She
confessed that "it was another of those bad experiences that plague
me, probably because of my height disadvantage, but I am
learning...and if I race them again today, today I am confident I can
take the gold." She noted that she would have been "tactically,
better prepared" had her coach whom she tried to get accredited
through the Guyana officials, been there.
Burnett said, "I knew I could have done better, had it not been for
the mishap, since I was prepared to `war' with all and sundry `cause
my coached prepared me well for this Games, and I have run as fast as
if not faster than everyone else this season."
Apart from that she said she had to make up for the unfortunate
experience of her Louisiana State University (LSU) colleague Neisha
Bernard-Thomas who missed the finals by 4/100ths of a second, after
she too was shoved in her semis. Bernard-Thomas had won the 800m gold
medal at the Central American and Caribbean championships
at home in
Grenada, exactly a month before.
While dedicating her medal to "all Guyana", she singled out her
special regard for the local Police Force, Sports Minister Gail
Teixeira and her coach Mark Elliott in Louisiana.
In tones
of controlled elation, Elliott said, "Marian has given me
proud
moments, yet again." He noted that when he spoke to Burnett by
telephone,
"she was her usual self ... not satisfied with anything
but
the utmost, the gold ... but I told her though we both know she
could
have done better, that little glory counts at this time."
Elliott
who coached Burnett at the top U.S. women's track and field
college,
to being one of the best half-milers in the U.S., contended
that
"she can and will do so much better in the future ... only a
handful
are currently better than she in this hemisphere, and her
nation
needs to support her and what she does as an outstanding
sporting
ambassador."
And, Manager for the track team, Neville Denny
indicated that the
disciplined manner in which his charges
have been attending to their
duties in Santo Domingo "has paid off." Denny said Burnett could have
done better were it not for the jostling problem, and felt that "she
continues to show that she has a lot of heart."
Not only on the track was Burnett involved in bitter-sweet
occurrences. The forthright and bold athlete stood by her insistence
that the medal ceremony for her event be withheld until a Guyana flag
is available. Earlier, Burnett observed that the `Golden Arrowhead'
was missing from the presentation area, and demanded that the
officials have one present for her auspicious moment. After almost
two hours, a Guyana flag which stood on the Games' Flag of Nations
ramp was released and used for the medal ceremony.
Reflecting on the `oversight' being another of the organisational
whammies at the Games, the young police officer said, "I refused to
stand there and let my national pride be short changed," adding that
her Surinamese and Cuban counterparts also agreed with her. "I am a
military personnel, and the first Guyanese to compete here, so these
little slips had to righted," Burnett said in ordering tones.
Poole said he had the honour of raising the Guyana flag at the 1991
Games in Cuba, and this time around "myself and everyone else, we
were very proud ... and the Guyanese support we are getting here had
a proud moment too ... we are looking forward to Marian's `first-up'
glory bringing us more. At the time this newspaper contacted the
Guyanese team, 2003 Commonwealth Games gold medalist Aliann Pompey
had gone off to rest, though initially she was available.
Pompey contested the heats of the Women's 400m the previous night,
and advanced to the Finals billed for last night. Both Denny and
Burnett confidently stated that "Aliann is ready ... ready to go to
the finals, she is more motivated, now."
Other
team members are scheduled to go into action later. Boxer Rayon
O'Neil
will fight in the 75kg category and should have an elimination
contest
either tonight or tomorrow, and he is banking on being
successful
to go through to the quarterfinals next week. Swimmer Onan
Thom
is schedule to enter the pool on Monday after his expected
arrival
yesterday, while weightlifters Shondell King (Women's 69kg)
and
William Langford (Men's 77kg) begin their quest for medals next
Thursday.
Benjamin
smashes five-year 400m record (8/9/03)
By Michael
DaSilva
Carlotta Benjamin erased
the five-year women's 400-metre record set
by 2003 Pan American
Games bronze medalist Marian Burnette to be
crowned champion
female athlete of the Guyana Police Force's 50th
Annual Track
and Field Championships which ended yesterday at the
Police
Sports Club, ground.
Contesting yesterday's female 400-metre
event, Benjamin clocked one
minute 02.3 seconds (1:02.3)
to erase the 1:08.61 set by Burnette in
1998.
The feat was mainly responsible for Benjamin capturing the Best
Female' award, since `B' Division's C. James also won three events to
amass 30 points.
Andre
Blackman, who accumulated 30 points, was crowned champion `A'
Class
Male Athlete while B. Leitch was named champion `B' Class male
athlete
ahead of L. Kennedy. Blackman also broke the 400-metre record
yesterday
when he returned 49.2 seconds to erase the 49.3 seconds set
by
K. Hughes of Antigua in 1998.
Benjamin's feat also contributed to Headquarters amassing 465 points
to retain the `B' Class championship trophy.
In
the `A' Class competition, Guyana made a successful defence of
their title in a two-country race that involved Grenada. Guyana
tallied 180 points
while Grenada registered 76 points.
`A' Division (325) finished second in the `B' Class competition,
while `B' Division (220) and Country Division (182) placed third and
fourth respectively.
Grenada's M. Modeste was adjudged the `Best Overseas Athlete'. He
secured 31 points.
Dwayne Walcott of Country Division and Headquarters' Colin Mercurius
both registered 28 points to share the runner-up position in the `A'
Class competition.
The best male Police
Youth Club Member (YCM) athlete on show during
the three-day
championships was Trevor Scotland with 30 points, while
on
the distaff side, Diane Munroe came out on top.
After winning
the 800 and 1500-metre events on Tuesday and Wednesday
respectively,
Benjamin came back yesterday to add the 400-metre title
to
her name. D. Fraser was second and C. Butcher third.
Blackman
won the 100, 200 and 400-metre events while Leitch won the
200
and 400-metre `B' Class races yesterday and finished second in
the
800-metre race on Tuesday.
Blackman clocked 10.4 seconds in
winning the 100m event from Brennon
Thompson and O. Lewis
respectively while he returned 21.3 seconds for
the 200-metre
race. Thompson also placed second in the 200m, while T.
Black
was third.
Walcott and Lewis placed second and third respectively
to Blackman in
the 400-metre event yesterday.
Other outstanding performances yesterday came from Carifta Games 5000-
metre gold medalist Clevland Forde who won the 1500-metre male
invitational race in 4:13.1. Lionel D'Andrade finished a distant
second while Jevon Eastman placed third.
On the distaff side, Jennifer Chichester clocked 4:53.7 to finish
ahead of Delsie Dick and Larlisa Atkinson-Shabaz respectively.
In other selected results from yesterday's 49-race finals: (800m
female invitational) D. April (2:32.8), Delsie Dick, Leslinn Qualis;
(800m male invitational) R. Duncan (2:13.3), S. Sandiford, B. Smith,
(100m YCM female) Munroe (12.1), A. Niles, K. Lamazon, (100m YCM
male) K. Williams (10.7), D. Farley, K. Trotman, (100m female police)
C. James (12.7), K. Edwards, A. Hossanah, (100m `B' Class) M. Newland
(11.5), D. Farley, B. David, (200m female) C. James (27:0), C.
Thomas, (200m `B' Class) Leitch (23:00) C. Parris, D. Farley.
Aliann Pompey second fastest
qualifier for the finals (8/8/03)
Women's
400 Semifinal Heat Three - 1. Aliann Pompey, Guyana, 52.23;
2. Noviene
Williams, Jamaica, 52.76; 3. Geisa Coutinho,
Brazil,
53.23; 4. Patricia Rodriguez, Colombia, 53.41; 5. Mayra Gonzalez,
Mexico, 53.53; Ellana Pacheco,
Venezuela, did not finish.
Women's 400 Semifinal Heat One - 1. Ana Guevara, Mexico, 52.22; 2.
Melisa Barber, USA (Columbia, S.C.),
52.62; 3. Michelle Burgher,
Jamaica, 53.13; 4. Adia McKinnon, Trinidad & Tobago, 54.24; 5.
Jackie Ann Morain, Grenada, 56.30; 6. Mirtha Brock,
Colombia,
1:01.79.
Women's 400 Semifinal Heat
Two - 1. Hazel Ann Regis, Grenada, 52.31;
2. Moushaumi Robinson, USA
(Columbus, Ohio),
52.23; 3. Lisvania,
Cuba, 52.37; 4. Josiane Tito,
Brazil, 53.18; 5. Clara Hernandez,
Domican Republic, 55.22.
Three-person
collision robbed Burnette of gold (8/08/03)
By Michael
DaSilva
Marian Burnette who
survived a three-person collision to give Guyana
its first
medal at the 2003 Pan American Games in the Dominican
Republic
said yesterday she was proud to have won a medal for her
country.
Burnette placed third in the women's 800-metre final on Wednesday.
Speaking to Stabroek Sports by telephone yesterday, Burnette, who
clocked two minutes 03.58 seconds (2:03.58) in placing third
said "I'm proud of winning a medal for Guyana, I'm satisfied with
the bronze, but disappointed that I did not win the gold."
According to Burnette, herself and two other athletes collided just
after completing the first of two laps and she had to call on her
reserves to get back into the medal hunt.
"At
the bell lap, people started pushing and jostling for a proper
position
and myself and two others collided. By this time, the 38-
year-old
Surinamese Letitia Vriesde, who won the gold in 2:02.92;
and
Cuba's Adriana Munoz, who took the silver in 2:02.96; went clear
of us, so I had to dig up in the final 300 (metres) to get in the
top three. I had to complete the last 300 in lane three. Any-way,
I'm happy to have won a medal for my country," an elated Burnette
stated.
Burnette said the first lap was
run very slowly, but towards the end
of the lap, the pace
increased.
According to the official results, the first 400-metres
were
completed in 1:01.92.
Vriesde won a bronze medal at the 2001 Edmonton, Canada World
Champion-ships.
Burnette told Stabroek
Sports she had defeated Vriesde on two
occasions in Europe and was confident of winning Wednesday's
race. "I was telling myself I can win this thing or come in the top
three and I did come in the top three," Burnette disclosed.
The United-States based Guyanese said she will return to the US on
Sunday then travel to Europe to compete in a meet
so as to qualify
for the World
Championships.
The 800-metre qualifying standard for the World
Championships is
2:00 for `A' Class athletes
and 2:01.30 for `B' Class.
Burnette's
personal best time is 2:01.71 which she recorded in
Croatia in July.
Burnett
path to her second International Medal (8/7/03)
In the first
final on the track, Letitia Vriesde's expertise
prevailed and the Surinamese held off Cuba's Adriana Muñoz in the
home straight to win the women's 800m in 2:02.92, only 0.04 seconds
faster than the young Cuban. The fist half was covered in a slow
1:01.92. Guyana Marian Burnett finished third in 2:03.58.
FINALS
Women's 800 - 1. Letitia Vriesde, Suriname, 2:02.92; 2. Adriana
Munoz,
Cuba, 2:02.96; 3. Marian Burnette, 2:03.58; 4. Christiane
Ritz, Brazil, 2:04.37; 5. Yanelis Lara, Cuba, 2:04.58; 6. Luciana
Mendes, Brazil, 2:05.52; 7. Sheena Gooding, Barbados, 2:06.28; 8.
Hazel Clark, USA (Gainesville, Fla.),
2:09.12.
Women's 800 Semifinal
Heat Two - 1. Hazel Clark, USA (Gainsville,
Fla.), 2:03.54; 2. Christiane Ritz,
Brazil, 2:04.09; 3. Marian
Burnette, Guyana, 2:04.17; 5. Yanelis Lara,
Cuba, 2:04.20; 6.
Gabriela Medina, Mexico, 2:10.69.
Two
wins for Walcott, Mercurius and Benjamin (8/7/03)
- as Guyana
lead international category
Dwayne
Walcott, Colin Mercurius and Carla Benjamin recorded their
second
victories in as many days when the Guyana Police Force's
164th
Anniversary, Annual Track and Field Championships continued at
the
Police Sports Club ground yesterday.
Representing Country
Division, (CTY) Walcott, who won the `A' Class
male 800-metres
on Tuesday's opening day, came back yesterday to
capture
the men's 1500-metres ahead of Headquarters' (HQ) Mercurius,
who
won the men's 5000-metres on Tuesday and the 10,000-metres
yesterday.
Benjamin, who won the women's 800-metres on Tuesday, won
the
women's 1500-metres yesterday.
Walcott, who ran a tactical
race yesterday, registered four minutes
23.3 seconds (4:23.3)
in winning the event. Mercurius clocked
4:24.9, while P.
Black (HQ) who placed third, returned a distant
4:45.3.
Mercurius registered 35:26.1 in winning yesterday's 10,000-metre
event from K. Dawson and Mark McAlister respectively, while
Benjamin, a national athlete, clocked 5:20.3 for the women's 1500-
metres. Carlotta Fraser (5:47.2) was second and D. Williams (6:20.3)
third.
Yesterday's
1500-metre event started off quite slowly, in fact, too
slowly
for one of the competitors who accelerated and left the
bunch,
but after completing the first 300 metres, he `blew up' and
started
walking.
As the 10 other athletes completed the first 400
metres, another one
accelerated and suffered the same fate
as the first. All the while,
Walcott kept just off the pace
directly behind Mercurius and as the
two (Walcott and Mercurius)
approached the final 300-metre mark,
Walcott made his move
and left Mercurius in his tracks.
Yesterday also, the Grenadian
athletes that are here for the
championships turned in some
fine performances in the field events.
M. Modeste won the
discus `A' Class with a throw of 33.22 metres.
Guyana occupied the second and third spots through E. Keizer and C.
Moore respectively.
Modeste also won the javelin `A' Class with a throw of 56.30 metres.
Guyana's Larry Josiah and R. Sinclair placed second and third
respectively.
In the men's `A' Class triple jump, G. Bartholomew of Grenada
hopped, jumped and skipped 13.10 metres to win the event from his
countryman F. Coutain (12.94m) and Guyana's L. Kennedy (12.02)
respectively.
In other finals from yesterday,
Nadia Robertson won the female
javelin event with a throw
of 21.77 metres. Second was E. Castello
and third A. Lewis.
Karen Cort won the female version of the triple jump by registering
7.89m.
Second was D.
Ferguson (7.10m) and third Daniels (4.68m).
At the end of
two days of competition, Guyana (94 points) lead
Grenada (71) in the international category, while in the divisional
championships, Headquarters (251) lead arch-rivals `A' Division
(133). Country and `B' Divisions are tied on 109 points each.
The curtains will come down on the championships tomorrow when 49
finals are scheduled to be run off.
The first event gets underway at 10am.
Headquarters
set to take 2003 athletics title (8/7/03)
By Leeron
Brumell
HEADQUARTERS (HQ) have
taken a commanding lead in the annual Guyana
Police Force
(GPF) athletics championships.
After two days of competition,
HQ have amassed 251 points to be
followed by `A' division
with 133, and `B' and Country (combination
of C, D, G and
E & F divisions) both on 109.
For the country title,
which only involves Guyana
and Grenada, the
hosts have taken the lead with 94, while Grenada have 71 points.
Yesterday, (wed) some thirty-three events were contested with a
total of 13 finals.
In the field events
Nadia Robertson of `B' division with a javelin
throw of 21.77
metres claimed the top spot, while Castello of HQ
placed
second and Lewis of `A' third.
M. Moleste of Grenada with a release of 33.22 metres took the male
discus title to be followed by E. Keizer and C. Moore placing second
and third respectively. Both throwers are from Guyana.
Colin Mercurius of HQ was an easy winner in the male 10 000m
distance event with a time of 35:26:01, while K. Dawson ran in
second while McAllister trailed in third. Mercurius, however, could
not recover in time to garner enough energy for the 1500 metres, in
which he placed second to D. Weldt (Country) who recorded a winning
time of 4:21:03. D. Blake
also of HQ took the third spot.
The slimly built Carla Benjamin enjoyed victory over teammate
Carlette Fraser with D. Williams of `A' third in the female 1500m
race.
In other events, Karen Cort won
the female triple jump with a hop;
step and jump of 7.80
metres while G. Bartholomew with 13.14 metres
took the male
event.
The 200 and 400 metres sprint heats were also contested
along with
novelty events for Police children in the under
12 and 15 divisions.
Today is the designated rest day,
before tomorrow's final, which is
set to race off from 09:30 hrs after the official opening session.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Gail Teixeira is expected
to
give the feature address and to take the salute at the
Police Sports
Club ground, Eve Leary.
Tomorrow is expected to be explosive when the athletes are set to
face the starter's gun in the forty-nine races carded for the day.
The first event tomorrow will be the 800m to be followed by the much-
anticipated 100m sprint events in the male/female and A and B
classes and the relays to end the day on an exciting note.
There will also be the tug-o-war, obstacle race for the recruits and
a few invitational events, which boast club athletes from around
Guyana.
Burnette
lands Pan Am bronze (8/7/03)
She had declared
that she would do her best to give Guyana a medal
and Guyana's overseas-based athlete Marian Burnette did just that.
At the Olympic Stadium in the Dominican Republic, hosts of the 2003
Pan Am Games last evening, Burnette gained a bronze medal for Guyana
and herself.
This was according to boxer Rayon
O' Neil, who relayed the good news
to Stabroek Sports last
evening.
Burnett had earlier qualified for the medal round
with a stirring
run of 2:04:17 for a third place finish in her semi-final heat.
Guyana will be seeking a second medal when Commonwealth Games 400m
gold medalist Aliann Pompey competes in the women's
400m today,
Pompey will run at 9.15pm tonight in an attempt to make the finals
scheduled for tomorrow night.
Meanwhile O'Neil told Stabroek Sports that he is scheduled to fight
an elimination bout either tomorrow or Saturday. Should he win he
will be through to the quarter-finals.
Swimmer
Onan Thom is expected to arrive in the country tomorrow,
while
Guyana's two weightlifters William Langford and Shondell King
are eagerly awaiting their turn to join the medal
hunt.
Mercurius
steals spotlight (8/7/03)
By Michael
DaSilva
Colin Mercurius stole
the spotlight on the opening day of the Guyana
Police Force's,
164th Anniversary Annual Track and Field
Championships, which
got underway at the Police Sports Club, ground,
yesterday.
After 16 finals, defending international champion Guyana leads the
points standing with 53 points. They are being followed by Grenada
with 33 points, while in the divisional championships, defending
champion Headquarters lead with 142 points. Second is `A' Division
with 92 points. Country Division is third with 85 points and `B'
Division fourth with 83.
Representing Headquarters,
Mercurius clocked 16 minutes 58.3 seconds
in winning the
event from his team mates Larry Josiah and K. Darson
respectively.
So convincing was Mercurius' victory that he finished almost two
minutes ahead of Josiah.
Another
outstanding victory was that of national junior athlete
Jennifer
Chichester who clocked two minutes 27.1 seconds in winning
the
female 800-metre event for the Police Youth Club Members (YCM).
Second
was Delcie Dick and third S. Mentore.
In the 5000-metre race,
Mercurius stayed with other eight
competitors for the first
lap, but then stepped up the momentum, and
together with
Josiah, opened a healthy lead on the others.
After two laps
and with the rest of the field struggling, Mercurius
changed
into over drive and left Josiah. He (Mercurius) went on to
overtake
all but one (Josiah) of his rivals in romping home to
victory.
When Mercurius crossed the finish line, Josiah was a mere 20 metres
into his final lap.
In
her 800-metre final, Chichester stayed with the rest of the bunch
until she received the bell for the second and final lap. On hearing
the bell, Chichester who is a seasoned 1500 and 3000-metre athlete,
accelerated and moved away from her rivals, leaving them as though
standing. She literally sprinted the final 400-metre.
In results from the international events that were staged yesterday,
G. Bartholomew of Grenada Police Force won the male long jump for
`A' Class athletes with a leap of 6.46 metres. Second was Guyana's
Brennon Thompson (6.30m) and third Grenada's F. Coutain (5.46m.)
Another Grenadian M. Modeste ended fourth (5.04m).
In the `A' Class shot put event, Guyana's E. Keizer was first with a
throw of 12.28m. Second was C. Moore (11.44m) also of Guyana and
third was Modeste (11.04m).
Grenada is being represented by a four-member team which includes a
manager.
Other results
(finals) are as follows; (high jump male `B' Class) M.
Kennedy
(1.78m), A. Craig (1.75m), S. Benjamin (1.65m). (Shot-Put
female)
Lorraine Peters (8.16m), E. Castello (8.16m), Amanda
Hermanstein
(8.06). (800m female) Carla Benjamin (2:30.9), Carlotta
Fraser
(2:34.9), B. Williams (2:42.1). (800-metre male `A' Class) D.
Walcott
(2:02.4), Lary Josiah (2:03.6), F. Coutain (2:04.7). (800m
male
YCM) T. Scotland (2:00.7), D. Eastman (2:05.2), R. Downer
(2:05.6).
(800m male `B' Class) R. McPherson (2:09.8), B. Leitch
(2:11.5),
K. Darson (2.13.6). (Long jump male `B' Class) L. Kennedy
(6.14m),
A. Craig (6.11m), E. Cobena (5.81m). (3000m female)
Carlotta
Fraser (12:10.9), D. Williams (14:09.3), O. Jones (17:48.3).
The
three day championships will continue today at the same venue
with
several finals.
Burnett
reaches 800m semis at Pan Am Games (8/06/03)
- Pompey
swings into action tomorrow
Guyana's Pan Am games medal hopeful Aliann Pompey will swing into
action tomorrow as competition in the 400m of the Pan Am Games
begins.
Guyana took part in their first event last night when Pompey's US-
based team-mate Marian Burnette took part in the women's 800m semi-
finals.
Burnette was
down to run her 800m semi-finals at 7.30pm last evening
at the Olympic Stadium. The
finals will take place at 6pm this
evening at the same venue.
Pompey, who won a Commonwealth Games gold medal in the 400 m at last
year's Games will be competing in the women's 400m at 9.15pm.
The finals will take place tomorrow evening.
The
boxing competition begins on Friday at 8pm. Guyana's lone
representative,
Rayon O'Neil, will compete in the 75kg weight class.
Swimming
action starts on Monday where Guyana's Onan Thom is
scheduled
to be in action. Thom is expected to arrive in Santo
Domingo on Friday.
Weight lifting begins next Thursday. William Langford is entered in
the 77kg category while Shondell King will compete next Friday in
the 69kg category.
Headquarters
establish commanding lead (8/6/03)
HEADQUARTERS
established a commanding lead after Day One of the
Annual Police Athletics Championships at the Police Sports Club
ground yesterday.
In a day with 36
events, 16 were finals and HQ amassed 142 points,
followed
by `A' Division on 92, Country Division 85 and `B' Division
83.
For the international competition, only Grenada made the tour here
and trailed on 33 points with the hosts on 53.
The distance races were among the finals run off and Colin Mercurius
(HQ) ran away with the 5000m in a time of 16:58.3 minutes, followed
by L Josiah and K. Dorson.
Carlotta
Fraser took the 3 000m in 12:10.09 minutes, beating D.
Williams
to second and O. Jones third.
Fraser, however, ran in
second to Carla Benjamin in the 800m, who
clocked 2:30.9
minutes in winning the race. Williams was third.
On the
International scene, D. Walcott (Guyana) won the `A' Class
800m
in 2:2.04 minutes, Josiah (Guyana) was second and F. Coutain
(Grenada) third.
Grenada's G. Bartholomew won the `A' Class Long Jump, with a leap of
6.46 metres, beating Guyana's Brennon Thompson, while the third
place went to Coutain.
In the Youth Club events, Jennifer Chichester ran away with the 800m
in 2:27.1 minutes, the highlight of the day.
The championships continue today with 33 more events, of which 13
will be finals including the 1500m for both male and female athletes
and the 10 000m. Several field events will be completed, including
throwing the javelin.
Guyana July 2003 Track and Field News
Guyana seek first
Pan Am medal in 28 years (7/30/03)
Local-based
Guyanese athletes will wing out for Santo Domingo
this
afternoon to compete at
the XIV Pan American Games, scheduled to get
underway on
Friday in the Dominican Republic.
Those leaving
this afternoon are William Langford, Shondell King and
Rayon
O'Neil and they will be joined in Santo Domingo
by United
States-based athletes
Aliann Pompey and Marian Burnett and England-
based Julian
McWatt.
Langford, King and McWatt will represent Guyana at weight lifting
while O'Neil will be Guyana's lone boxing hope. Pompey, who won a
Commonwealth Games 400-metre gold medal last year and Burnett, will
participate in track events.
Also expected
in Santo Domingo is swimmer Onan Thom who participated
in
the just-concluded World Swimming Championships in Barcelona,
Spain. It is not clear if Thom, who did not medal at the world
championships, but who registered a personal best time, has returned
to Guyana as yet.
When
Stabroek Sports tried to reach Guyana Swimming Association
president
Juman Yassin, and the association's secretary Charles
Corbin,
to find out if Thom had returned from the world
championships,
we were informed that both Yassin and Corbin are
already
in Santo Domingo.
The officials accompanying the local contingent
are: Corbin Chef de
Mission, Neville Denny (athletics) Dion
Nurse (weightlifting) and
Terrence Poole (boxing).
Up to press time, a Guyana Olympic Association member told Stabroek
Sport the official accompanying Thom had not been named. Thom was
accompanied to Spain by Stephanie Fraser.
Pompey, who missed the just-concluded Central American and Caribbean
Track and Field Championships in Grenada, will pin her hopes on
winning Guyana's first Pan American athletic gold medal since James
Wren Gilkes won gold for Guyana at the 1975 Games. Pompey will
contest the women's 400-Metres. Gilkes had won a 200-Metre gold
medal.
According to
a source, Pompey who was campaigning in Europe at the
time of the CAC Meet, missed out on the CAC Games
because of flight
problems.
Burnett, who is just off a successful European tour will contest the
women's 800-metres.
O'Neil, who is Guyana's national amateur middleweight (75kg)
champion will do battle in the same division.
Should Thom attend the Games, he will contest the 100 and 200-metre
freestyle, breaststroke and backstroke events.
Originally, the Guyana Olympic Association had submitted the names
of over 20 athletes and officials to the Pan American Games
organisers, but because some of those who were identified did not
reach the qualifying standard, their names were deleted. Among those
track athletes who were identified but did not make the qualifying
standard are: Michelle Vaughn, Andre Blackman and Tai Payne.
Heptathlon athlete Nyota Peters reached the qualifying standard, but
for reasons unknown to Stabroek Sport, she will not be a part of the
XIV Pan American Games.
Ford, Chichester share honours (7/29/03)
...Seon Black/Powell
Memorial 10K
Junior Carifta
5000-metre gold medalist Clevland Ford and Jennifer
Chichester
shared the honours on Sunday in the men's and women's
categories
respectively of the Seon Black/Harry Powell 10K race.
Ford
won the male open 10k event from Colin Mercurius and Kelvin
Johnson,
while Chichester crossed the finish line ahead of Anarika
February and Alcia Fortune respectively.
The boys 17-20 age group over five kilometres was won by Clevland
Thomas. Jermaine Pilgrim finished second and Sherwyne Morris third.
On the distaff side, Delcia Dick was first, Carla Benjamin second
and Ashanti Scott third.
Dia
Shabazz won the boys 13-17 years category from Jermaine Blue and
Travis Bovell respectively, while on the distaff side, Leanna Doris
was first, Marcia Mentore placed second and Keisha Barry third.
The boys 11-13 years category was won by Christopher Reddy. Owen
Josiah was second and Anthony Bowman third, while in the girls
division, Carlisa Atkinson was first, Kimberley Dick second and
Willeth Reid third.
The masters 40-44 years
of age category was won by Walter Giles from
Fredrick O'Choa
and Winston Saunders respectively, while the 45-49
age group
was won by Llewelyn Gardener. Second was Curtis Archer and
third
Rudolph Anthony.
The 50-54 years age group was won by Clifton
Thom from Lennox Jacobs
and Ivelaw Henry respectively, while
Maurice Fagundes won the 54-59
years age group from Franklyn
Archer and Hubert Muloney respectively.
Henry Shepherd was
first among the men's 35-39 years age group.
Second was Aubrey
Hutson and third Errol Warde.
The boys under 11 years of age
category was won by Glendon Jones.
Kevin Jones was second
and Jemmel Jones third.
Organiser of the event Leslie Black
has expressed his gratitude to
the following individuals
and companies for their support in making
the annual event
the success it was; Federal Management Systems,
Fed/Ex, Toucan
Industries, DeSinco Trading, Cummings Electrical,
Ramchand
Auto Spares, Payless Store, Humphrey's Bakery and Farm
Products,
Rudy and Eddie Grant, Kevin Jeffrey, Foot Works Plus and
Paula
and Simone.
Chichester improve to 4th in the 1500m at PanAm
Juniors (7/21/03)
ROYAL BANK
OF CANADA -
PAN AM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN ATHLETICS 200
National Stadium, WATERFORD ST.
Finals
1 Santiuti Caball, Yuneisi
Cuba 4:24.56
2 Dron, Chantelle United
States 4:26.66
3 Maloy, Elizabeth
United States 4:26.87
4 Chichester, Jennifer Guyana
4:33.25
5 Kolstad, Kristen Canada
4:35.34
6 Cedeno, Karina Ecuador 4:40.87
7 Vasquez, Eliana
Chile 4:47.22
-- Malchor, Ines
Peru DNS
Chichester grabs 5th at PanAm Juniors (7/21/03)
ROYAL BANK
OF CANADA -
PAN AM JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
IN ATHLETICS 200
National Stadium, WATERFORD ST. MICHAEL
Event 16 Women 3000 Meter Run
Finals
1 Malchor, Ines Peru
9:57.96
2 Zeigle, Laura United States
10:04.18
3 Figueroa, Angela Columbia 10:06.95
4 McLeod, Brianna
United States 10:13.31
5 Chichester, Jennifer Guyana
10:26.08
6 Cedeno, Karina Ecuador
10:34.61
Men's 5000m
Finals
1 Rupp, Galen
United States 14:20.29
2 Merced, Arturo Mexico
14:30.68
3 Castillo Gera, Maure Sur Cuba
14:38.04
4 Aden, Maya Canada
14:38.86
5 Meindl, Peter United States
14:39.20
6 Sanchez, Deivis Venezuela 14:48.06
7 Pawluk, Samuel
Canada 14:53.55
8 Cusi, John
Peru 15:15.55
9 Forde, Cleveland
Guyana 15:24.37
10 Cornieles, Danny
Venezuela 15:39.28
Chichester contesting 3000m at World Youth c/ships (7/9/03)
Guyana's top junior female athlete Jennifer Chichester was down to
contest the women's 3000-metre event at the 3rd World Youth
Championships which got underway yesterday in Sherbrooke, Canada.
Chichester who left Guyana last week for the five-day Meet, is
accompanied by Pamela Phillips (chaperon). The event has attracted
athletes from 163 countries.
Chichester was scheduled to come against some of the world's best
under-18 athletes drawn from 12 other countries at 8.05pm last
night. According to the start list, Kenya and Japan entered two
athletes
each for the event while one each came from 11 other
countries.
Judging from the competitors' personal best times,
Chichester has
the 13th best time (10:14.08).
Kenya's Chepkorir Pasalia Kipkoech has the best time (9:08.40) of
the lot. She is followed by Japan's Saori Makishima (9:12.36) and
Yuko Nohara (9:12.75), Kenya's Jebichi Yator (9:13.00), Mauritius'
Siham Hilall (9:16.20), Romania's Mariana Szabo (9:27.34),
Yugaslavia's Azra Eminovic (9:28.85), Poland's Aleksandra
Jawor
(9:32.33), Etiophia's Kulen Bekana (9:34.09), China's
Jinxue Chang
(9:38.40), Peru's Ines Melchor (9:40.28) and
Canada's Anita Campbell
(9:57.36). Mali's Sitan Boire (10:40.00), and Wesam Abubheet
(11:18.20) are slower than Chichester.
Prior to the
start of yesterday's Bi-Annual championships, the
athletes
participated in athletic clinics that were graced with the
presence
of former and current world champions Edwin Moses, Jackie
Joyner-Kersee
and Michael Johnson who gave pep talks and
demonstrations
in starting and other techniques.
Lamine Diack president of
the International Athletic Federation was
also present during
the clinics.
Official
Results - 3000 METRES - Women Final
Wednesday,
July 09, 2003 - 20:05
Pos Bib Athlete Country Mark
1 997 Hilali Siham MAR 9:12.70 (PB)
2 978 Kipkoech Pasalia Chepkorir KEN 9:13.77
3 965 Nohara Yuko JPN 9:14.82
4 983 Yator Jebichi KEN 9:14.89
5 963 Makishima Saori JPN 9:25.34
6 1035 Melchor Ines PER 9:28.44
(SB)
7 1197 Eminovic
Azra YUG 9:31.37
8
790 Chang Jinxue CHN 9:38.39 (PB)
9 1062 Szabo Mariana ROM 9:43.13
10 1041 Jawor Aleksandra POL 9:48.71
11 762 Campbell Anita CAN 10:01.74
12 909 Chichester Jennifer GUY 10:41.79
13 1011 Boire Sitan MLI 11:04.90
14 1037 Abubheet Wesam PLE 11:26.37
855 Bekana Kulen ETH DNS
Burnett
lowers national record at Zagreb Grand Prix (7/9/03)
(From Frederick
Halley in Toronto)
MIDDLE-distance champion Marian Burnett rolled away the
disappointment of missing the competition of the just concluded XIX
Central American and Caribbean (CAC) track and field championships
with a typical gritty run in Europe to lower
her national 800 metres
record.
Fairly inspired by the gold medal performances of her
Louisiana
State University (LSU) colleagues at last weekend's
regional meet in
Grenada, Burnett raced to her own glory with a satisfying second
place in 2:01.71 at the IAAF Grand Prix Meeting - Zagreb 2003 in
Croatia on Monday.
Representing Guyana in a world-class field, Burnett defied the heavy
goings' to seal the top two positions for her British-based
management company Kim Sports Management Inc., as her stablemate and
Kenyan champion Faith Macharia romped home with the victory.
Coming in after Macharia and Burnett were Russia's European bronze
medallist Julia Kosenkova; Germany's number two Monika Gradzki;
Dutchwoman Letitia Vriesde - a multiple CAC, Pan-American and World
medallist; former Slovenian champion, Sonja Roman; Olympic 1500m
champion Nouria Merah-Benida (Algeria) and Petra Pticek (Croatia).
With another elite meet slated for Sheffield, England, before
returning to her home in the U.S., Burnett's outdoor season also
took her to meets in the U.S., Holland, Germany and Poland.
She
moved up from a string
of consistent performances to break her
previous personal
best of 2:02.29 in a little over seven weeks.
When contacted
by telephone a few hours after her race, Burnett
recalled
that she stayed with the other runners until the 600 metres
mark
"when Faith accelerated giving me a cue to get going as well."
"It was good race and we all were there to win, make it competitive."
Burnett's performance was not without its usual pre-race quandaries,
as she suffered a misplacement of her luggage travelling from
England to the Croatia city.
After
several unsuccessful attempts to seek her belongings, she
eventually
reverted to utilising gear and apparel from friends,
including
Macharia, Jamaican hurdler Debbie-Ann Parris, American
sprinter
Me'Lisa Barber and Britain's Natasha Danvers who won the
400m hurdles in a personal best 54.32s.
Burnett
said she is happy with her showing in light of the
adversities,
citing that she was "kinda' concerned and uneasy at
first,
but I gave it a cold-shoulder for the race and now I am back
to
worrying about my things which may still be in England or
Austria;. "Anyhow, I am thanking God for the help I got, and for
guiding me though this episode" the half-miler noted, adding that
her `loaned' spikes were piercingly close fitting at half
a size
smaller than her customary fit.
"These trials normally serve to strengthen Marian's resolve, so in a
way I was expecting her to be aggressive and take out her
disappointment on something or someone, and ... hey! She vented it
on the race'" her coach Mark Elliott said in a respite for her
luggage misfortune.
He
saw her feat as a show of insistence to get over the added
disillusion
of missing the CAC championships. Burnett could not
attend
the meet due to tight liquidity preventing her national
athletics
federation from being able to meet the expenses of flying
her
from Europe when she is currently domiciled.
Burnett
breaks her own national record (7/8/03)
Zagreb, Croatia
National Record Holder and NCAA champions Marian Burnett showed
why
missing the CAC championship was worth it. She placed
second in her
first Grand Prix One race in national Record
time of 2:01.71.
Zagreb 2003 {Memorijala Borisa Hanzekovica}
(IAAF Grand Prix I)
1. 149 MACHARIA Faith 76 KEN 1:59,80
2. 143 BURNETT Marian 76 GUY 2:01,71
3. 147 KOSENKOVA Julia 73 RUS 2:01,79
4. 146 GRADZKI Monika 79 GER
2:01,87
5. 153 VRIESDE Letitia 64 SUR 2:02,37
6. 152 ROMAN Sonja 79 SLO 2:02,47
7. 142 MERAH-BENIDA Nouria
79 ALG 2:02,80
8. 151 PTIÈEK Petra 81 CRO 2:04,59
Vaughn
grabs only medal at CAC games (7/8/03)
Under-20
Jumper Michelle Vaughn secured Guyana's
only medal of the
just concluded
CAC Championships. Vaughn grab the bronze medal in
the Women's
Triple Jump on the first day of the championships. Her
effort
of 12.74m was just below her personal best of 12.80m.
1
LEE, SUZETTE Jam 13.89m
2 ESPENCER, MARIA Dom. Repub 13.41m
3 VAUGHN, MICHELLE Guy 12.74m
4 SAUNDERS, DAPHNE Bah 11.82m
5
CORNWALL, PATRICIA Grenada 11.72m
6 NISBETT, STEPHANIE Stk
11.69m
Under-20 middle distance runner Tai Payne
was the only other athlete
to make the finals. Payne make
the final of the 800m run with a
seasonal best of 1:51.99
and could only muster 1:51.90 in the
finals. Trinidad's Sheridan Kirk won with a 1:49.10.
1 KIRK, SHERIDAN Tri 1:49.10
2 MYERS, JERMAINE Jam 1:49.36
3 WATTS, MARVIN Jam
1:49.48
4 SOTO, LUIS D. Pur 1:49.76
5 BOVELL, SIMEON Tri 1:49.90
6 SILVERA, SIMONCITO 21 Ven 1:51.00
7 ETHERIDGE,
RICARDO Pur 1:51.62
8 PAYNE, TAI Guy 1:51.90
Sprinter Andre Blackman make the semi-finals of the 100m dash with a
time of 10.66. However, he only ran 10.83 in the semis with 10.42
needed to make the finals. Blackman had run 10.16 earlier this year
in Trinidad. Blackman
also ran 21.71 in the 200m trials.
Georgia Tech graduate Jessica Defreitas placed 15th in the fastest
to the finals 100m dash. Defreitas ran 11.94 with 11.63 taking the
last spot.
In the women's long
jump, Defreitas and Vaughn placed 10th and 13th,
respectively.
1 GOULBOURNE, ELVA Jam 6.96m 2.6
2 EDWARDS, JACKIE Bah 6.63m 4.4
3 BUSTAMANTE, YURIDIA Mex 6.28m 2.8
4 RIVERA,
YESENIA Pur 6.27m 2.9
5 SAUNDERS, DAPHNE Bah 6.26m 2.7
6 VESANES, ELISEE Mart 6.23m 3.7
7 MOSLEY, KEITHA Bar 6.17m 0.4
8 ESPENCER, MARIA
Dom. Repub 6.13m 3.1
9 CORNWALL, PATRICIA Grenada 6.02m 3.2
10 DEFREITAS, JESSICA Guy 6.00m 1.1
11 PETERS, NYOTA Guy 5.93m 1.5
12 NISBETT, STEPHANIE Stk 5.86m 0.6
13 VAUGHN,
MICHELLE Guy 5.78m 0.8
14 RIVAS, THAIMARA 21 Ven 5.57m -0.1
Guyana's greatest chances to capture gold was in the
women's 400m
and 800m. However, Miss Aliann Pompey and Miss
Marian Burnett was
unable to make the meet. The winning times
were much slower that the
performances produced by the two
former NCAA champions this season.
Pompey
out of CAC (7/2/03)
By Michael DaSilva
Commonwealth Games 400-metre gold medalist Aliann Pompey will miss
the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Track
and Field
Championships billed to get underway in Grenada on Friday.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport by telephone yesterday, Pompey said she
has not heard anything about the CAC meet from the Amateur Athletic
Association of Guyana in a few weeks. "It's a few weeks now since I
heard from (Claude) Blackmoore (AAA president).
When contacted, Blackmoore said the locally based members of the
squad will leave Guyana tomorrow for Grenada and will be joined by
United-States based Guyanese Jessica DeFreitas.
When asked what is the position with Pompey, Blackmoore said he sent
Pompey an e-mail asking if she was available, but he received no
reply.
Asked if this meant that Pompey
would not be a part of the squad at
the meet, a hesitant
Blackmoore said "Let's leave that for after
CAC."
Pressed for a definitive response, Blackmoore said he does not think
so.
The locals were
originally scheduled to leave for Grenada today, but
according
to Blackmoore, there were problem with BWIA and LIAT so
the
traveling date had to be put back.
Pompey said she received
an e-mail from Blackmoore two weeks ago but
nothing more
since.
"I was expecting it (not being present for the CAC
meet), and I do
feel disappointed but I've already dealt
with that." Pompey
lamented, adding "I will go to Ireland
for a meet on Saturday then
return to New York.
Blackmoore said the AAA tried getting sponsorship to have Pompey
travel from London to Grenada but things did not work out. "We tried
to get funding for her and things had looked favourable, but nothing
has materialised," Blackmoore stated.
Yesterday, another section of the media reported that Blackmoore
disclosed to them (media) that Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports
Gail Teixeira had provided funding to cover an air ticket for Pompey
from London to New York, but further assistance was still being
sought to allow Pompey to be in Grenada.
The
said article also quoted Blackmoore as saying persons have
volunteered
to provide additional funding and no efforts will be
spared
to have Pompey at the championships.
Pompey last competed
in the Czech Republic on Sunday and placed
second to Russia's
Olesya Zykina who returned a winning time of
51.61 seconds.
Pompey's time was 52.27 seconds. The third place
finisher
was another Russian, Natalya Antyukh (52.28).
Zykina is ranked
number three in the IAAF's world ranking for women
400m runners.
The number one and two ranked athletes are Mexico's
Ana Gabriela
Guevara and Jamaica's Lorraine Graham-Fenton
respectively.
Asked about that performance, Pompey said she went out too slow and
never recovered. "The time was better that when I ran in
Switzerland, but it still was a poor time," Pompey stated.
The other members of Guyana's CAC contingent are; Michelle Vaughn,
Nyota Peters, Andre Blackman, Tai Payne, Ken Elexy (manager) and
Foster Sampson (coach).
Another
US based Guyanese athlete, Alec Henry, was also shortlisted
for
the CAC meet, but according to Blackmoore, Henry is recovering
from
an injury.
GUYANA JUNE 2003 TRACK AND FIELD NEWS
Burnett grab 8th in deep Polish field (6/30/03)
Zywiec Cup; Poznan, Poland, June 29
800 m women
1 Olga RASPOPOVA
78 RUSSIA 2:01.85
2 Tamara VOLKOVA
79 UKRAINE 2:01.92
3 Yulia GURTAVENKO
80 UKRAINE 2:01.98
4 Michelle BALLENTINE 75
JAMAICA 2:01.98
5 Irina VASHENTSEVA
80 RUSSIA 2:02.02
6 Anna ZAGORSKA
80 AZS-AWF Wroclaw 2:02.13 SB
7 Heather HENNIGAR
73 CANADA 2:02.95
8 Marian
BURNETT 76 GUYANA
2:03.01
9 Joanna BUZA 81 Start Lublin
2:03.19 SB
10 Nadezdha VOROBYEVA 77 RUSSIA
2:03.54
11 Ewelina SETOWSKA 80 AZS-AWF Warszawa 2:04.09
12
Beata RUDZINSKA 82 SKLA Sopot 2:04.80
PB
13 Rikke RONHOLT 76 DENMARK
2:04.88
Pompey takes second in Prague (6/29/03)
Josef Odlozil Memorial (IAAF Grand Prix II)
Prague (CZE)
400 m Race A
1
Zykina Olesya 80 RUS 51,61
2 Pompey Aliann 78 GUY 52,27
3 Antyukh Natalya 81 RUS 52,28
4 Béwouda Hortense 78 CMR 52,86
5 Shinkins Karen 76 IRL 53,43
6 Ogunkoya Falilat 68 NGR 53,83
7 Fuchsová Helena 65 CZE 56,82
Pompey manages sixth at Switzerland meet (6/27/03)
By Michael
DaSilva
Guyana's number one female athlete, Aliann Pompey, could do no
better that sixth place, when she contested the women's 400-metre
event at the Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzem meeting in Switzerland on
Wednesday.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport by
telephone yesterday, Pompey who
returned 52.56 seconds, said
she is at a loss for words as to what
really happened on
Wednesday.
"I have no idea what happened...I'm baffled for
words....I was not
tired, I did not have a long flight...I'm
at a loss." Pompey stated.
The Guyana 2003 Sports Woman of
the Year explained that she was in
lane seven and led from
the start until the 250-metre mark when she
glanced over
and saw the athlete in lane six "coming up on me".
Pompey
who has been selected to represent Guyana at the Central
American
and Caribbean Track and Field Meet in Grenada next month
said
she hoped Wednesday's performance in Switzer-land is her only
bad
race this season.
Asked whether she has received any news
from the Amateur Athletic
Association of Guyana (AAA) about
her going to Grenada for the CAC
meet, Pompey said she has not checked her e-mail in a few days so
she does not know if the AAA wrote her. She however said "CAC is
just a few days away and if I don't get to go to Grenada, I will
just go to the Prague (Czech Republic) for a meet on Sunday."
Stabroek Sport however contacted a representative from the AAA who
said that arrangements are being made to have Pompey in Grenada for
the CAC meet.
The official said several persons,
including Minister of Culture,
Youth and Sports Gail Teixeira,
have offered to assist in getting
Pompey from England where she is currently based to Grenada in time
for the meet.
Wednesday's 400-metre race
in Switzerland was dominated by athletes
from Russia who occupied the first three positions, they are;
Svetlana Pospelova (50.70), Kapachinskaya (50-74) and Olesya Zykina
(51.02).
Nigeria's Bisi Afolabi finished fourth in 51.26 seconds, while USA's
Demetria Washington was fifth in 51.72 seconds.
Pompey finished ahead of Great Britain's Catherine Murphy (53.59)
and Switzerland's Martina Naef (54.41).
Burnett grab 5th and Pompey 6th in Europe (06/26/03)
Papendal
Games Arnhem/Papendal (NED)
800m
1 Akosua Serwaa
GHA 2.01.91
2 Naila Jaber NED
2.02.08
3 Letitia Vriesde
SUR 2.02.12
4 Lotte Visschers NED
2.02.26
5 Marian Burnett
GUY 2.02.47
6 Ana Zagorska POL
2.02.55
7 Maura Prendiville
IRL 2.03.50
8 Rikke Ronholt DAN
2.04.01
Spitzen Leichtathletik Luzern (EAA Permit)
Lucerne (SUI)
Women - 400 m
1. Pospelova Svetlana
RUS 50,70
2. Kapachinskaya RUS
50,74
3. Zykina Olesya
RUS
51,02
4. Afolabi Bisi
NGR 51,26
5. Washington Demetria USA 51,72
6. Pompey Allian
GUY 52,56
7. Murphy Catherine GBR
53,59
8. Naef Martina
SUI
54,41
Greene, Bagot bag three gold, one silver (6/26/03)
- B/dos Austin
Sealey Track Classic
By Michael
DaSilva
Local athletes Rawle Greene, Corwyn Bagot and Renson
DaSilva copped
three gold, one silver and one bronze medal
between them at the
recently concluded 2003 Austin Sealy
Track Classic, held at the
Barbados National Stadium.
Greene, a Bedford Track and Field Club member, recorded the sprint
double in the men's 100 and 200-metre races, while Bagot who
represented Atoms Athletic Club, won a gold and a silver medal in the
men's long and triple jumps respectively. DaSilva placed third to
Bagot in the men's long jump.
Greene returned 10.64 seconds for the 100-metre and 21.06 seconds for
the 200-metre.
The 21.06 seconds for the
200-mere, is Greene's personal best time.
His previous best
time over the distance was 21.22 seconds which he
clocked
in 2001 at the South American Games in Brazil.
Bagot leapt
6.74 metres in winning the long jump gold medal, while he
hopped,
skipped and jumped 13.67 metres in the triple jump.
DaSilva
leapt 6.23 metres in placing third in the long jump. He was
however
disqualified in the men's triple jump.
The double gold won
by Greene, is the second such achievement in
successive weekends.
Greene had also recorded victories over the same
distances
at the Falcons Classic Meet in Tobago one week earlier.
While Greene is happy with his performances, he is still not certain
if he will be selected for the Pan American Games, billed for Santo
Domingo in August.
According
to Greene, when the local Pan American trials were held at
the
Uitvlugt Community Centre ground earlier this year, he was beaten
into second and as such he was not shortlisted for national squad.
However, the 21.06 seconds he returned for the 200-metre in Barbados,
is better than the 21.43 seconds Pan American qualifying time as
stipulated by the Pan American Federation.
The
Pan American Federation also stipulates that an athlete must
register
10.49 seconds or less to qualify for the 100-mere race.
Barbados' Andre Browne (10.72) placed second to Greene in the 100-
metre event while Jamal Simmons (10.89) of the Barbados Defence
Force
finished third.
Andrew Holder (21.85) and Lemar Seale (21.87), both of Barbados,
placed second and third respectively in the men's 200-metre event.
Barbados' Alex Straughn was third in the men's long jump with a leap
of 6.54-metre.
The men's triple jump was won by Barbados Defence Force's Jamal
Cumberbatch with a 14.64-metre leap.
Greene
would like to thank the following individuals and business
houses
for making his sojourn in Barbados possible: Ashmin's Trading,
Hakeem Mohammed of Mohammed's General Store, New Guyana Marketing
Corporation and Mike's Pharmacy.
Its unfortunate if I miss CAC (6/20/03)
- Pompey
By Michael DaSilva
Aliann Pompey, Guyana's 2002 Commonwealth Games gold medalist, said
yesterday it will be unfortunate for her if she misses the
opportunity to represent Guyana at next month's Central American and
Caribbean (CAC) Track and Field Meet in Grenada.
Pompey who will be graduating from a New York University with a
masters degree in Business Administration next month end, told
Stabroek Sports "It's unfortunate if I miss CAC, but I'm in good
shape and there's always Pan Am and World Championships to think
about."
However, Claude Blackmoore, president
of the Amateur Athletic
Association of Guyana (AAA) said
his association will do everything
possible to have Pompey
at the CAC meet.
Pompey who is currently campaigning in Europe, informed Stabroek
Sports by telephone that she had to get a loan (US$4,500) to
complete her Masters.
She said when she was in
Guyana a few months ago, she received some
financial assistance for her studies from GT&T. "I had to take
out a
loan. GT&T did make a donation towards my education
which I greatly
appreciate, but the rest was covered by a
loan." Pompey stated.
The 23-year-old who was born in Bee
Hive on the East Coast Demerara
and spent part of her adolescent
years in Lovely Lass, Berbice, said
she will be participating
in a meet in Switzerland on June 25
and "If I miss CAC, I
will run another race in Prague, Czech
Republic and then
Ireland and if I make an impression there, I can
always look
back and say CAC just wasn't meant to be."
Asked if any financial
assistance has been forthcoming from the
Guyana government, Pompey said Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports
Gail Teixeira was instrumental in her (Pompey) receiving a one
year
health insurance which began in January this year.
Pompey will benefit from a three-month grace period after graduating
next month, before she starts repaying her US$4,500 loan.
Pompey who was a finalist in the 400 metres at the 1999 Pan American
Games, won her first international meet of the season at one of the
oldest athletic meet in Europe
on Sunday. There she returned 51.48
seconds to finish ahead of Bulgaria's Svetlana Usovich (51.62) and
Anna Pacholak (51.88).
In her first meet of the
season just over a week ago, Pompey clocked
51.99 seconds
in finishing fifth to the world champion Amy MBacke
Thiam
of Senegal, who returned 51.15 for the distance. The meet was
staged in Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
Pompey set a new national 400-metre record when she registered 51.34
seconds in the semi-final of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in
Manchester, England.
She went on to win the gold medal with a 51.96
run.
Pompey AAA's number one priority (6/19/03)
-says AAA
boss Claude Blackmore
By Michael
DaSilva
The Amateur Athletic Association of Guyana (AAA) will
make every
effort to get Guyana's Commonwealth Games women's
400-metre gold
medalist, Aliann Pompey, to the Central American
and Caribbean Track
and Field Meet, slated for Grenada from
July 4 to 6.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport yesterday, AAA president
Claude Blackmore
said his association would leave no stone
unturned in getting Pompey
from Europe, where she is currently campaigning, to Grenada for the
meet.
Blackmore also cleared the air on an article
which appeared in
Saturday's edition of the Stabroek News,
which stated that Pompey
could miss out on representing at
the CAC Meet, unless sponsorship
is secured for her to travel
from Europe to Grenada.
According
to Blackmore, the AAA had budgeted to fly Pompey from her
home
base in the United
States to Grenada, and not from Europe to
Grenada
since the association did not have the money.
Pompey had told Stabroek Sport that she was informed that she might
not be on the national team for the CAC meet since the AAA was
strapped for cash. She had said also that she had felt very
disappointed at that.
Pompey pointed out
that she decided to campaign in Europe in order
to get in some much needed competition leading up to the CAC and Pan
American Games.
Blackmore
said having won a gold medal at last year's Commonwealth
Games
in Manchester, England, Pompey has become the AAA's priority
in terms of representing Guyana at any international meet. "If there
is only space for one Guyanese athlete at a games, Pompey would be
our automatic choice," Blackmore declared.
Pompey who returned 51.96 seconds in winning the Commonwealth gold
medal, clocked 51.48 seconds when she won the women's 400-metre on
Sunday at the Kusocinski Memorial Meet in Warsaw, Poland. Bulgaria's
Svetlana Usovich finished second in 51.62 seconds, while Anna
Pacholak (51.88) placed third.
Blackmore said
another US based Guyanese - Jessica DeFreitas - has
been
added to the CAC squad which includes Pompey, Marian Burnette,
Alec
Henry, Michelle Vaughn, Nyota Peters, Andre Blackman, Tai Payne
and
Clyde Gibson. Burnette and Henry are also based in the US, but
Burnette
is currently campaigning in Europe also.
DeFreitas who is the daughter of former national football goal
keeper Vibert DeFreitas who hails from Bartica, attends the
University of Georgia.
She will contest the women's 100 metres and
long jump.
Burnette will contest the 800-metre,
while Vaughn will do battle in
the women's long, high and
triple jumps.
Peters will participate in the heptathlon, while
Henry and Blackman
are down for the men's 100 and 200-metre
events. Payne will contest
the men's 800-metre and Gibson
the men's long and triple jumps.
Henry's best time for the
100-metre this year is 10.5 seconds.
This year's CAC meet
is expected to attract some of the planet's top
athletes.
According to the IAAF website, so far six countries have submitted
names with their entries. The Bahamas will be fielding 32 athletes,
including former NCAA champion Avard Moncur, the gold medal
revelation of the 2001 World Championships in Edmonton, along with
the Bahamas 4x100m women's relay team, three of whose members will
also be at the CAC meet. The Bahamian women, who were World
champions in 1999, went on to repeat their gold medal exploits at
the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia.
Cayman Islands' Kareem Streete-Thompson, who once led the world in
the men's long jump, is on the list for the sprints.
Streete-Thompson was born in the USA, but lived his first 18 years
in the Cayman
Islands. Originally he represented
the Cayman Islands,
then USA,
and then from 1999 the Cayman Islands again. Veteran 800m
runner Dale Jones leads Antigua-Barbuda. Belize will be represented
by 400m hurdler Michael Aguilar at the meet.
Jamaica has indicated that a strong contingent will be sent but the
names will be submitted following their national championships
next
weekend. Haiti and the Netherlands Antilles
have also submitted
their entries.
More than 600 athletes and officials, including a contingent
from
Cuba, have registered for the championships.
Guyana's Pan Am
Games contingent to be decided by July 15 (6/19/03)
By Donald
Duff
Chef-de-Mission of Guyana's Pan Am Games team Charles Corbin says
the size of the Guyana contingent to this year's Pan Am Games
scheduled for Santo Domingo in August will be determined by July 15
the latest.
Guyana pre-registered some 21 athletes, 14 male and seven female
athletes for the August 1-17 Games in Santo Domingo also known as
the Dominican Republic.
However,
Corbin told Stabroek Sports that the Guyana Olympic
Association
(GOA) has a July 17 deadline to submit the team to
participate
in what will the biggest games to be held in the region
this
year.
Some 42 countries including powerhouse United States of America are
down to compete in the 35 sports disciplines at the Games.
Guyana are due to participate in only four sports disciplines -
track and field, weightlifting, swimming and table tennis, Corbin
said.
So far the quota of athletes for weightlifting and swimming have
been decided.
"Swimming and weightlifting
have already confirmed their
participation criteria," said
Corbin. "Weightlifting will be
represented by one female
and one male weightlifter while swimming
have also been allotted
two slots."
"Table tennis has applied for one wild card which,
if they get it,
they will be allowed two athletes to play
in both the singles and
doubles," said Corbin.
Guyana have also pre-registered eight coaches and delegates most of
whom will be named by their respective federations along with the
final members of the team.
Corbin said that the AAA still has some time remaining to select
their athletes but most of these will be done at the South American
Seniors and the CAC Seniors.
The AAA has
shortlisted several athletes to represent Guyana at a
few
international meets with a view towards them making the
qualifying
times for the Pan Am games.
For, although they have pre-registered
the names of 21 athletes,
only those who make the qualifying
times will be allowed to compete.
The AAA sent four athletes
Tai Payne, Clyde Gibson, Nyota Peters and
Michelle Vaughn
to the South American Seniors which starts on
Saturday in
Venezuela while Aliann Pompey, Marian Burnette, Vaughn,
Peters,
Alec Henry, Andre Blackman, Payne and Gibson are down to
compete
at the Central American and Caribbean Seniors scheduled for
July
4-6 in Grenada.
Pompey, however is a doubtful starter for
the CAC Seniors unless
sponsorship is secured for her to
travel from Europe to Grenada.
According
to the Commonwealth Games 400-metre gold medalist ,she has
been
informed by an official of the AAA that the association is
strapped
for cash and, unless funds are made available, she would
not
be a part of Guyana's team to the meet.
Pompey and Burnett have recently been inducted into the
International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) world top
athletes lists.
They are among several
Caribbean stars, who have registered top-10
marks in their respective events.
Burnett, an NCAA champion, holds the #9 spot in the IAAF's top-10
outdoor 800m list comprising several elite stars from across the
globe.
Pompey on the other hand has been
having a fine indoor season twice
holding the world's fastest
400m time. She has also recorded a new
Guyana national record (52.17s) at the distance.
Pompey last weekend placed first in the 400m at a meet in Poland
while Burnette placed third at a meet in Germany.
Pompey wins in Poland (6/17/03)
- Marion
Burnette places third
By Michael
DaSilva
United States-based Guyanese athletes Aliann Pompey
and Marian
Burnett kept the Golden Arrowhead aloft on the
European circuit on
Sunday by placing first and third respectively
in separate meets.
According to an informed source, Pompey
won the women's 400-metre
event at the Kusocinski Memorial
Meet in Warsaw, Poland while the
IAAF
website reported that Burnett placed third in the 800-metre
event
at an EAA Meet in Dortmund, Germany.
While Stabroek
Sport was unable to get Pompey's time for the event,
it has
been reported that the 2002 Commonwealth Games women's 400-
metre
gold medalist has set a new Guyana record for the distance. The
previous record was 51.96 seconds set by Pompey herself at the
Commonwealth Games in Manchester, England.
Burnett's time for the 800-metre on Sunday was two minutes 02.46
seconds (2:02.46). The event was won by Russia's Natalia Khrushelyova
(2:01.44) from Germany's Claudia Gesell (2:01.99).
According to the IAAF rankings, Pompey is currently ranked 20th in
the top 100 list for women over 400 metres.
Mexico's Ana Gabriela Guevara heads the rankings while Jamaica's
Lorraine Graham-Fenton is second.
Both Pompey
and Burnett are currently campaigning in Europe leading
up to the Central American and Caribbean (CAC)
Track and Field
Championships and the Pan American Games
two meets which Guyana
will
be participating in.
However, Pompey could miss out on representing Guyana at the CAC Meet
unless sponsorship is secured for her to travel from Europe to
Grenada.
According
to Pompey, she was informed by an official of the Amateur
Athletic
Association of Guyana (AAA), that the association is
strapped
for cash, and unless funds are made available, she would not
be
a part of Guyana's team at the Meet.
Pompey along with Burnett, Alec Henry (US based), Michelle Vaughn,
Nyota Peters, Andre Blackman, Tai Payne and Clyde Gibson were
shortlisted by the Council of the AAA to represent Guyana at the CAC
Meet slated for July 4 to 6 in Grenada.
The
Pan American Games is billed for Santo Domingo
during the month
of August.
Vaughn, Peters, Blackman, Payne and Gibson were also shortlisted for
the South American Seniors which is scheduled to commence on Friday
in Venezuela.
Pompey wins Janusz Kusocinski Memorial (6/16/03)
Warsaw, Poland - 2002 Commonwealth Champion and National Record
Holder won her first International meet of the season at the one
of
the oldest athletics meetings in Europe.
400
m
1 Aliann Pompey (GUY) 51.48
2 Svetlana Usovich (BLR) 51.62
3 Anna Pacholak
51.88
Pompey placed 5th on Grand Slovenska Prix II (6/10/03)
Cena Slovenska
/ Slovak Gold - Bratislava (SVK)
Tuesday,
June 10, 2003
Official Result
Women - 400 METRES - Race 1
Pos Athlete Nat Mark
1 Thiam Amy Mbacke SEN 51.15
2 Amertil Christine BAH 51.28
3 Afolabi Olabisi NGR 51.46
4 Nguimgo Mireille CMR 51.97
5 Pompey Aliann GUY 51.99
6 Levina Tatyana RUS 52.48
7 Murphy Catherine GBR 53.40
8 Golendukhina Olga RUS 53.89
Burnett grab fourth place in Palo Alto. (6/9/03)
U.S. Track
& Field Open - Palo Alto, CA (USA)
Saturday, June 07, 2003
Official Result
Women - 800 METRES
Pos Athlete Nat Mark
1 Ballentine Michelle JAM 2:01.62
2 Jacobs Regina USA 2:02.42
3 Earl Chantee USA 2:03.77
4 Langerholc Brigita SLO 2:04.60
5 Burnett Marian GUY 2:04.83
6 Spencer Sasha USA 2:04.96
7 Hyman Mardrea JAM 2:05.31
8 Williams Tamika BER 2:06.86
Hotchkiss Katie USA DNF
Forde, Chichester off to South American juniors (6/6/03)
By Michael
DaSilva
Junior Carifta medal
winners Clevland Forde and Jennifer Chichester
along with
Royston Ross, winged out for Ecuador yesterday morning to
participate
in the South American Junior Track and Field
Championships
billed for tomorrow and Sunday.
Forde who won the 5000m gold
medal at this year's Junior Carifta
Games in Trinidad and Tobago is expected to give a good account of
himself, having been very consistent over the past year.
Forde, a member of the Rising Stars Club will contest both the under-
20 boys 1500 and 5000m races while Police Sports Club athlete
Chichester, will do battle in the under-17 girls 1500 and 3000m
events.
Chihester won a silver and a bronze medal in the under-17 girls
1500m and the open girls 3000m respectively, at this year's Carifta
Games.
Ross (Bygeval) is expected to contest
the under-20 boys shot and
discus events.
In winning the 2003 Carifta 5000m gold in 15:27.42, Forde defeated
Jamaican Jason Elleson by more than 50 metres. The soft spoken
athlete had also won a gold medal over the same distance at the 2002
Carifta Games in the Bahamas. There (Bahamas) he had returned
15:47.00.
Forde's personal best time for the 5000m is 15:21.0 which he clocked
at the Central American and Caribbean championships in Jamaica.
Chichester who had returned
10:14.08 for the Carifta 3000m, had also
won gold and a silver medals at the Manny Ramjohn Games in Trinidad
during the month
of March.
The three athletes are being managed by Pamela
Phillips.
Stabroek Sport has learnt that Amateur Athletic
Association of
Guyana president Claude Blackmoore also accompanied
the team.
Meanwhile, Chichester, Forde, Ross and Cleon Washington have been
identified for the Pan American Juniors Track and Field Meet, billed
for Barbados from July 18 to 20.
Guyana May 2003
Track and Field News
Pompey, Burnett shortlisted for CAC championships (5/28/03)
COMMONWEALTH
gold medallist Aliann Pompey and Marian Burnett were
shortlisted to represent Guyana in the Central American & Caribbean
(CAC) Senior Championships billed for Grenada in July.
The Amateur Athletic Association of Guyana (AAAG) identified four
teams for international meets in the region since May 10, but only
released them yesterday.
Teams were
named for the South American Junior Championships, Pan-
American
Juniors, South American Seniors and the (CAC) Seniors.
Pompey
named for the 400 metres sprint, the race she won for
Guyana's first track gold in the Manchester Games while fellow USA-
based Burnett will enter the 800m.
Another overseas-based athlete, Alec Henry, will be sprinting in the
100m and 200m events.
The
other members shortlisted for the July 4-6 meet are Michelle
Vaughn
(Long Jump, Triple Jump), Nyota Peters (Heptathlon), Andre
Blackman
(100m, 200m), Tai Payne (800m) and Clyde Gibson (Long Jump,
Triple
Jump).
Ken Elexey was named manager and Foster Sampson,
the coach.
Five athletes were identified for the South
American Seniors billed
for Venezuela from June 20-22 under the same management. They are
Vaughn, Peters, Blackman, Payne and Gibson.
Junior Sportsman-of-the-Year Cleveland Forde was shortlisted for two
junior teams. He is among four athletes identified for the Pan-
American Juniors to be staged in Barbados, July 18-20.
Forde who struck gold in two consecutive Carifta Games will enter
the 5 000m and 10 000m events.
The
other athletes are Jennifer Chichester (1500m, 5 000m), Royston
Ross
(Discus, Shot) and Cleon Washington (Discus, Shot). The coach
is
Raymond Daw.
Forde was also named for the South American
Junior Championships
that come off on June 7-8 in Ecuador, but he will compete in the
1500m and 5 000m events. Chichester and Ross were also identified
for that team under manager Pamela Phillips.
AAA shortlist teams for intl meets (5/28/03)
The Council
of the Amateur Athletic Association of Guyana met
recently and shortlist teams to represent Guyana at several
international meets.
Teams have been shortlist
for the South American Juniors (SAJ)
slated for Ecuador on June 7 and 8, the Pan American Juniors (PAJ)
billed for Barbados from July 18 to 20, the South American Seniors
(SAS) scheduled for June 20 to 22 in Venezuela and the Central
American and Caribbean (CAC) Seniors billed for Grenada from July 4
to 6.
Those athletes shortlisted are (SAJ)
Jennifer Chichester, Clevland
Forde and Royston Ross.
(PAJ) Chichester, Forde,
Ross and Cleon Washington.
(SAS)
Michelle Vaughn, Nyota Peters, Andre Blackman, Tai Payne and
Clyde Gibson.
(CAC) Aliann
Pompey, Marian Burnette, Vaughn, Peters, Alec Henry,
Blackman,
Payne and Gibson.
Burnett breaks national record at Adidas Track Classic (5/22/03)
By Lawrie
Lockhart
ALMOST a month after
running her name onto the IAAF's top-10 world
list, middle-distance
ace Marian Burnett added another major
achievement to her
resume. She broke Guyana's
national record for the
women's
800m, pulling off a second national top mark in three months.
Braving a quality field of runners and frigid temperatures, the
diminutive half-miler returned an impressive personal best time of
2mins 02.29secs at the prestigious Adidas Oregon Track Classic in
Oregon last Saturday. Her time betters the 2:02.52 standard set by
former Guyanese track phenom, Lorrie Ann Adams almost ten years ago
in the USA.
Representing Guyana in an elite field comprising seven other
nationalities, Burnett turned in a late burst of power to place a
creditable fourth among the eleven starters. She followed Canadian
record-holder and Commonwealth Games runner-up Diane Cummins,
Ethiopia's Meskerem Legesse - whom Burnett had defeated during the
indoor season - and Suzy Walsham, two-time Australian 1500 champion.
The Guyanese completed the race ahead of top stars, including
Jamaica's Olympian and middle distance champion Mardrea Hyman,
Slovenian champion Brigitta Langerholc who was fourth at the 2000
Olympics and America's #2 and #3, Jen Toomey and Sasha Spencer,
respectively.
Burnett,
who had set a new Guyana indoor standard at the distance in
early
February, said she is plea
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