Latest update April 1st, 2025 5:37 PM
1st South American Youth Games – Lima, Peru; Day 2…Gaskin nails PB in 50m free; cyclists struggle, Lambert suffers mechanical problems
Day two at the inaugural South American Youth Games in Lima, Peru turned out to be a quiet one for the Guyanese swimmers and cyclists.
Apart from Hannibal Gaskin achieving a personal best time in the 50m freestyle his fellow swimmers, Onika George and Omar Adams had contrasting experiences while the cyclists also endured their fare share of challenges.
A dejected, Crystal Lambert
The lone female rider, Crystal Lambert was confident of holding her own against her competition, was in the leading pack of six riders on one of two hills in the 20km contest and holding Brazilian Ana Paula Casetta who tried to breakaway but Lambert made the move with her also.
It was at this point that Aruban rider crashed into Lambert’s back wheel, effectively ending her chances. Coach William Howard who should have been following Lambert was abandoned by their assigned driver after being taken to the track which meant that Lambert had to be assisted by someone else after struggling for more than five minutes to get her cycle fixed.
By this time she said that she was in tears without any assistance forthcoming. The race was eventually won by Ester Galarza of Ecuador in 37 Minutes 56 Seconds. Ana Paula Casetta of Brazil and Paraguay’s Agua Marina Espinola were second and third respectively.
The male duo of Junior Caribbean Silver Akeem Arthur and Shaquel Agard had their fare share of excitement also. The course that they were practicing on was not the course that was used for yesterday’s 40km event.
Their assigned car according to Coach Howard actually took them to the track they were used to before realizing that it was not the right one. They arrived minutes before the start of the event at the official course; pressure already beginning to build on a cold and windy day.
They riders tried their utmost to warm up but according to their coach, it was difficult so to do based on the challenging conditions. Prior to the start of the race, moments before actually, the vehicle assigned to Chef-de-Mission Dr. Karen Pilgrim had to be assigned to Howard for the Guyana riders.
The race started at a fast pace with the local duo holding their own until they encountered the hilly section of the course. Initially they were able to handle the pressure but the trio of eventual winner, Rodrigo Dos Santos of Brazil, second placed John Rodriguez (Columbia) and third placed Esteban Villarreal of Ecuador separated themselves from the others and they were never caught again.
The male riders traversed the course four times; twice more than the females, when it ended, Dos Santos’ time like the second and third placed finishers was One Hour 3 Minutes 57 Seconds.
The mountain bike riders will be aiming for better fortunes today when they go into action at 11:00hrs. They will not be faced with a dissimilar course but their course is a very challenging one.
They have never raced on a course like this one, very hilly with steep turns, dry and dusty, but according them (Stepano Husbands and Alonzo Ambrose) they are up to the challenge and will be striving to do their best.
In the pool, Hannibal Gaskin achieved a personal best time in the 50m free; he bettered his previous mark of 27.66 with 27.55. Over the same distance, Omar Adams clocked 28.15; he was slower than his best of 27.75.
Onika George, competing in the 100m free was slow off the blocks as a result of not hearing starters orders. George did try her best to catch the other swimmers but wasn’t able to do so and ended with 1:09.93 having entered with a time of 1:06.69.
A visibly emotional George did not have much time to recover and was soon competing in the 50m backstroke where she clocked 34.46, her entry time was 33.31.
Coach Sean Baksh summed up the day as a challenging one while giving his charges kudos for their efforts. The swimmers will be back in the pool tomorrow. Gaskin and Adams will contest the 200m free while George will be in the 100m backstroke.
Apart from cycling, Guyana’s Boxers will also be in action today. Tefon Green (49kg) and Joel Williamson (56kg) will take the ring. Both fighters along with Travis Fraser (69kg) drew bye’s to the second round. On day one, Michael April contesting the 52kg division, defeated W. Choque of Bolivia.
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