Day one of the South America Under-20 Championships in Colombia proved to be rewarding for team Guyana as Tianna Springer and Ezekiel Newton lived up to expectations by securing medals.
Springer copped gold in the 400m, doing so in a record time, while Newton got bronze in the 100m.
The 16-year-old clocked 53.3s to erase the old mark of 53.44s, previously held by Bárbara de Oliveira of Brazil, and adds to her gold recently achieved at the CARIFTA Games in The Bahamas.
Newton ran a Personal Best of 10.42s in the race that saw the record shattered by Brazil’s Renan Gallina, who clocked 10.01 seconds for the gold,
The previous 100m record (10.23s) was held by Brazilian Erick Cardoso, set in 2019.
Ronal Mosquera of Colombia (10.08s) also finished ahead of Newtown
Both Newton and Springer will compete in the 200m.
More so, Karese Lloyd did not medal in the 100m but still has the 200m to make amends, likewise, Jaheel Corvette was unsuccessful in the 400m but has the 200m to compete as well.
My congratulations go out to Ms. Tiana Springer for capturing a gold medal at the recent Olympic games. We are all proud of you and we wish you every success in your endeavours. My congratulations also go out to Mr. Ezekiel Newton for capturing a bronze medal at the same games. Do keep up the good work.