Caesar, Bright strike gold -Brazil atop medal table after Day 1 of S/A U-20 c/ships
Brazil’s track and field team sits atop the medal table after Day 1 of the South American U-20 championships but local athletes, Compton Caesar and Chantoba Bright struck gold to give Guyana its best start of the event which made its debut in 1959.
In front of a boisterous crowd at the National Track and Field Centre, Caesar, Guyana’s golden boy at this year’s CARIFTA Games, added another international 100m gold to his collection with an upset win against Derick De Souza Silva (10.45s) of Brazil who was relegated to second. Third was Argentina’s Daniel Londero in 10.70s.
Caesar struck gold in a personal best of 10.37s after a supersonic start which translated to a flawless drive phase. His excellent execution allowed him to stave off the fast finishing Brazilian who had the fastest qualifying time and a season’s best of 10.26s.
Bright, a multiple CARIFTA Games medalist also continued her upward trajectory on the international circuit, winning the women’s long jump with a distance of 6.30m. Bright, like Caesar, who is a native of Linden, disturbed the sand in a career best effort to add the precious metal to her bulging collection. Her compatriot Ruth Sanmogan (5.59m) placed third while Victoria Alves (6.18m) was second.
Guyana also had two occupants on the podium in the women’s 100m and the men’s 800m. In the blue riband 100m event, Onasha Rogers (11.71s) snared silver and Kenisha Phillips copped bronze (11.78s). Brazil’s Lorraine Martins (11.56s) powered across the line to win the gold.
Samuel Lynch and Anfernee Headecker finished second and third respectively in the grueling two-lap event which was won by Brazil’s Jefferson Alb Dos Santos who also won the 1500m event.
Earlier in the day, Headecker (4m:02.81s) narrowly missed out on a second-place finish but earned Guyana’s