Aliyah Abrams focused on being consistent this season

Apr 20, 2023 Sports

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur News – Aliyah Abrams has been keeping the Golden Arrowhead flying on the track overseas, one stride at a time, with considerable success.

Aliyah Abrams at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan.

Abrams has been one of the country’s most consistent athletes, and speaking with Kaieteur News recently, the former University of South Carolina stand-out athlete said her focus this season is “increasing strength and maintaining poise in my running, the smaller details.”

Last weekend, Abrams became the first Guyanese athlete to book her spot at this year’s World Championships in athletics after finishing second in the women’s 400m at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational.

The Guyanese 400m specialist clocked 50.77 seconds and was second behind Jamaican Stacy-Ann Williams, who won the race in a time of 50.12s. The USA’s Brittany Brown was third (51.15s) at the James G. Pressly Stadium in Florida.

South American Indoor 400m record-holder’s time was her Personal Best and shy of Aliann Pompey’s National Record of 50.71s, set at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

“I was very pleased with my performance,” Abrams said while admitting, “I wasn’t running intending to hit the standard.”

“I was just trying to work on my new race execution which went well and resulted in a personal best and a qualification,” the US-based Guyanese athlete said.

The World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, is set for Aug 19 – 29 and carries a qualifying-standard time of 51.00s for the women’s 400m.

At the 2022 World Championships, Abrams reached the semi-finals of the Women’s 400m; she was 5th in the finals at the Indoor World Championships last year.

Abrams, 27, believes, “Keeping afloat is dependent on the goals I set for the season, once I have something to strive for I keep that at the forefront of my mind. All the real work happens at practice, so consistent effort and focus will yield consistent results.”

Meanwhile, to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France, Abrams will be asked to replicate or better Saturday’s performance during the Olympic Qualification July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024 window.

The 2024 Olympic qualifying time for the women’s 400m is 50.95s.

Abrams was the only Guyanese athlete to run the qualifying-standard time for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

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Aliann Pompey, Jamaican, Rawle Toney, Tom Jones Memorial Invitational, World Championships

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