Despite challenges, athletes happy with performance in Peru

Jul 17, 2024 Sports

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Attention now shifts to World U20 Championships

By Rawle Toney

Kaieteur Sports – Athletes Malachi Austin, Athaleyah Hinckson, and Tianna Springer are thrilled with their performances at the recently concluded South American U20 Championship in Athletics, held in Lima, Peru.

The trio, along with their coach Kenisha Headley, returned to Guyana yesterday after competing in the 46th edition of the championships, a marquee event on the South American Athletics Confederation (CONSUDATLE) calendar.

Both Austin (400m) and Hinckson (women’s 100m) secured gold medals in their respective events, while Springer earned bronze in the women’s 400m.

Hinckson’s medal is particularly historic, as it marks the first for Guyana since the championship began in 1959.

In an interview with Kaieteur News, Headley noted that given the team arrived in Peru just before the championship; Guyana has much to be proud of regarding their performances.

Headley also mentioned that while the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) had initially named 13 athletes for the event, financial constraints limited the selection to just three.

“We faced a lot of challenges. Our biggest challenge in Peru was the altitude and the breathing, as well as the climatic conditions because it was cold and cloudy, so the athletes had difficulty staying warm. So yes, the challenges were many, but the team spirit was high, everyone was supporting each other,” Headley said.

She pointed out that, “The athletes expressed disappointment that they didn’t run their Personal Best times, because they all anticipated that they were going to Peru to do well, but I explained to them that the gold medals in itself is an accomplishment because they’re now the South American Champion and medalist in their various events, especially coming from a climate where its hot and humid to one that is extremely cold…be proud of yourself is what I’ve been telling them (the athletes).”

Meanwhile, Hinckson, who became the first female from Guyana to win a 100m gold at the championship, stated, “I feel great, it’s a great feeling, knowing that I put in all the work, because before the competition I had a slight injury before the competition. Also, in the competition I was in a lot of pain and was cold, due to the weather, but I was able to push through all of it and just forced on one thing.”

Hinckson won the women’s 100m in 11.76 seconds, surpassing Colombia’s Maturana Camila (11.85s) and Brazil’s Vanessa Dos Santos (11.86s), who finished third.

“I’m so proud of myself, and right now, I’m just focused on the World U20 Championship,” Hinckson said.

Last year, Springer set a new championship record with a time of 53.53 seconds, breaking Brazil’s Bárbara de Oliveira’s 2009 record of 53.44 seconds in São Paulo.

This time, however, Springer had to settle for third place, finishing with a time of 55.12 seconds, behind Brazil’s Julia Ribeiro (54.32s) and Colombia’s Castro Nahomy (54.87s).

The 16-year-old Springer told Kaieteur News that competing in Peru was one of the toughest experiences of her budding track and field career.

The Youth Commonwealth and double CARIFTA Games 400m champion pointed out, “I just felt like my body was seizing up from the cold and that’s why I couldn’t perform as I would like, because I felt like I was running hard. So that’s the reason why I ran that sort of time.”

Springer’s time of 52.31 seconds, her Personal Best, clocked at the CARIFTA Games in March on her way to Gold, is the third fastest time for an U18 athlete and 14th fastest at the U20 level.

Malachi Austin, the Youth Commonwealth Games 400m silver medalist and U20 CARIFTA Champion, though proud of his achievement, wasn’t too pleased with his time of 47.21 seconds which earned him gold ahead of Colombia’s Ian Reasco (47.69s) and Brazil’s Vinicius Galeno (48.29s).

It was the 17-year-old’s first time at the championship, telling Kaieteur News, “It wasn’t what I thought it would be. The weather wasn’t ideal for running because it’s cold. It took me some time to get warm, but it was good overall. I’m not pleased with my time, but I understand.”

“I also ran with a fear because at the Aliann Pompey Invitational I sustained a hamstring injury, so yea, I was fearful of getting injured. But thanks to my coach (Julian Edmonds) I was able to rebound and did enough to come to Peru to win gold,” Austin said.

Looking ahead, the athletes will focus on the World Athletics U20 Championships, scheduled for August 27–31 in Lima, Peru.

Kadecia Baird remains the only athlete from Guyana to medal at the World U20 Championships, finishing second in the women’s 400m in 2012 when the event took place in Barcelona, Spain.

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• athletes, challenges, championships, Peru, Rawle Toney

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