Abrams, Archibald break Guyana’s Pan Am Games medal jinx

Nov 01, 2023 Sports

…Women’s 100m silver for Abrams, men’s 100m bronze for Archibald

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur Sports – Jasmine Abrams and Emanuel Archibald broke Guyana’s longstanding Pan Am Games athletics medal curse last night in Santiago, Chile.

It has been nearly two decades since a Guyanese track and field athlete stood on the podium at the Pan Am Games, but in a thrilling turn of fate at the Julio Martínez National Stadium Coliseum, history was made.

Abrams and Archibald became the first track and field athletes since Marian Burnett and Aliann Pompey’s 2003 performance to medal at the Pan Am Games.

Abrams led the charge in the women’s 100m finals, showcasing the prowess befitting the country’s national 100m record holder.

Although narrowly missing the gold, Abrams finished second in 11.52 seconds, closely behind Cuba’s Yunisleidy Garica’s 11.36 seconds.

Abrams finally got her victory over Michelle-Lee Ahye, as the Guyanese edged the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist to third, with the Trinidadian prized sprinter stopping the clock at 11.53 seconds.

Jasmine Abrams (right) battling eventual winner, Cuba’s Yunisleidy Garcia, in the finals of the women’s 100m at the Pan Am Games.

Meanwhile, the men’s 100m race was a heart-stopping saga that demanded a photo-finish verdict to determine the podium placements.

Archibald, racing in lane one, and Brazil’s Flipe Bardi in lane five, both dashed across the line in 10.31 seconds, trailing just 0.01 seconds behind the Dominican Republic’s Jose Gonzalez.

However, after meticulous scrutiny, Archibald’s timing was microscopically edged out by Bardi. The adjusted time for the Guyanese runner stood at 10.31s (.310), a hairbreadth behind the Brazilian’s timing at 10.31s (.302).

Following his run, the 2023 Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games 100m champion, said while he was aiming for the gold, he was contented with his bronze-medal performance in Chile.

Close call! Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald (first from right) in a photo-finish in the Pan Am Games Men’s 100m final. He finished third.

His race was drama-filled, as Archibald admitted that the two false starts might have hampered his performance, “I was gone in both false starts, but I just worked with it and I medalled so I can’t complain. Up to 60 metres I was good, then my form break, but I’ll work with the third.”

At the 14th edition of games in the Dominican Republic, Burnett was second in the women’s 800m final, while Pompey finished third in the women’s 400m.

As the excitement continues today, Abrams and Archibald are set to storm the track again in the 200m event, while Aaliyah aims to follow her sister’s success by vying for a podium finish in the women’s 400m finals.

Archibald and the Abrams siblings are aiming to etch their names alongside the legendary James Wren-Gilkes, the only track and field gold medallist from Guyana at the Pan Am Games since the 1975 event in Mexico City.

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Aliann Pompey, Emanuel Archibald, Jasmine Abrams, Marian Burnett, Pan Am Games, Yunisleidy Garica

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