By Treiston Joseph
With Guyana set to host the 2017 South American Junior Track and Field championship in June, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) has listed its squad to represent the Golden Arrowhead. The AAG has long listed 65 athletes to begin preparation for the championships, set to be staged at the National Track and Field Centre, Leonora.
Athletes have been selected from 11 clubs in the country with Super Upcoming Runners (SUR) having the most with 13. The Guyana Defence Force is second with 12 athletes and Police Progressive Youth Club and Christianburg Wismar Secondary are tied for third with eight athletes each.
The athletes are currently encamped and will go through that phase until May 28, while a team of coaches has already been assigned to the 65-member squad. Training started on April 29. Cornel Rose has been named as Manager of the team. Some of the top athletes who have been selected are Carifta gold medallists Chantoba Bright, Compton Caesar, Natricia Hooper and Claudrice McKoy.
In addition, Carifta silver medallist Anferenee Headecker is on the squad, along with top athletes such as Daniel Williams, Kenesha Phillips, Avon Samuels, Tyrell Peters, Cassie Small, Onasha Rogers and Tremaine Browne. Guyana, enjoying host nation privileges, will be allowed to have up to three athletes per event at the championships. The event will be the first major IAAF calendar event to be held in Guyana.
While the Leonora synthetic track has hosted the prestigious Aliann Pompey Invitation, it will be the first time that the track will play host to an international event boasting at least 10 different countries. It is set for June 3-4.
