Athletes put up solid performances as new year begins
In just the first month of the year, Guyanese athletes have signaled their intention of making a mar4k on the world stage this year by putting up some solid performances in the United States of America.
Among those athletes some of whom are in the USA college system, are Olympians Aliyah Abrams and Brenessa Thompson.
Both Thompson and Abrams represented Guyana at last year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and despite not being among the medals, this year they have wasted no time in making their mark and showing that they have benefited from their Rio experience.
Last year Abrams, then a freshman at South Carolina clocked 52.02 in the 400m at the Southeastern Conference outdoors Track and Field Championships, a time that bettered the qualifying time of 52.20.
She went on to participate at the Olympic Games where she clocked 52.79 in placing fifth in her heat.
Abrams has already commenced her preparations for the year and ran a season best time of 53.46 in the 400m at the Vanderbilt Invitational on January 21.
Though not yet at her best, her time puts the South Carolina star at number 10 on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) list this season.
Iana Amsterdam, competing for Clemson University where she is majoring in Sociology, was recognized by the ACC as its women’s Co-Field Performer of the Week.
In her first triple jump meet of the year, Amsterdam won the event with a leap of 42.6, the eighth best jump in the country and the top mark by an ACC student athlete for the season.
On January 7 at the Clemson Orange and Purple Opener indoor meet, Amsterdam clocked 7.58 seconds in the 60m dash.
Thompson, who qualified for the Rio Olympics by clocking 11.23 in the 100m at the Michael Johnson Invitational meet last April, also attends Texas A & M University. She has run 7.41 and 23.89 in the 60m and 200mm respectively and is ranked 32 and 22 in the above events, respectively.
Kadecia Baird, who burst upon the scene in spectacular fashion by winning a silver medal at the 2012 World Junior Championships in Barcelona, and who also competes for Texas A & M University, has run 24.00 and 54.13 in the 200m and 400m. She’s ranked 31 and 21 respectively.
Natricia Hooper, who won a silver medal at the South American Youth Championships and who attends Essex Community College, has recorded a time of 56.75 in the 400m and recorded a distance of 12.74 in the triple jump in her first season competing indoors. She’s ranked seventh and second on the NJCAA Division I ranking list.
Stephan James, who represented Guyana at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, in Scotland, and who attends Mississippi State, has run 47.23 in the 400m so far this season, and is 14th among NCAA Division I athletes.
Andrea Foster, who was the NJCAA athlete of the XC season, but hasn’t yet competed this indoor season in an individual event. She also attends Essex with Natricia Hooper.
Meanwhile on February 4, Jeremy Bascom, Winston George, Joel Johnson and Earl Lucas will team up to run the 4x200m at the Armory Track Invitational. Adam Harris is expected to compete in Canada shortly. (Donald Duff)