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National Championships set for June 18-20 Fans anticipate Drayton’s return
By Calvin Chapman
National long jump record holder, Emanuel Archibald who won silver in the 100m in the S.A. C/Ships will be the favourite to for the men’s 100m and long jump events.
Kaieteur News – Local athletes will breathe a big sigh of relief as the National Senior Athletics Championships has been confirmed for June 18-20 by the head of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG), Aubrey Hutson.
Hutson, during an invited comment with Kaieteur Sport yesterday, revealed that he is sure that this will be very welcomed news by local athletes who are still trying to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
He expressed great satisfaction with the performances of the 12-member contingent at the recently concluded South American Senior Athletics Championships where Emanuel Archibald and the national men’s 100m relay team created history by winning the first silver and bronze medals in the respective events along the way to a record five medal-haul.
However, during the majorly successful Championship in Ecuador, no athlete registered the Olympic Standard (OS) to gain qualification to the Tokyo games so the National Championships may be a final chance for locals although the closing off date for athletes to register the OS, according to World Athletics, is on June 30.
June 18-20 will be the first time the Guyana national senior track & field championships is being held since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic forcing the 2020 games to be abandoned. Olympic qualification will not be the only highlight on the line but the obvious bragging rights at stake.
It is unclear whether fans will be permitted into the stadium but their will very likely be able to witness the action live via streaming with the men’s 800m showdown promising a very mouth-watering contest after former National Champion Philip Drayton announced his comeback after nine years of retirement.
In an article published by Kaieteur Sport on August 2nd, 2020, Drayton detailed that he was out to dethrone current Champion Devaun Barrington and has been preparing since 2018 for his return. The likes of Barrington, Anfernee Headecker and Daniel Melville will make for a very special race.
In addition, with Guyana recently claiming a historic bronze in the men’s 4x100m race at the South American games, close rivalry amongst teammates along with local speedster Davin Fraser; who has a big point to prove, will not disappoint the hype that is usually expected from the marquee Athletics event that is the 100m men’s final.
Local track & field athletes are deserving of this meet since the internationally recognised Aliann Pompey Invitational has since been cancelled for 2021.
Of Note:
The Annual General Meeting and Elections of executive members of the AAG will be held on the morning of June 20th where the current President Aubrey Hutson has confirmed that he will be looking to be reelected to serve another term.
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