Archibald and Ogando to headline Men’s 100m at AP Invitational

Guyana’s Emanuel Archibald and the Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando will headline the Men’s 100m at this year’s AP Invitational, scheduled for June 22 at the National Track and Field Centre.

With the AP Invitational just eight days before the June 30 qualification deadline set by World Athletics, track and field fans are in for a treat, as each athlete will be aiming to meet the 10-second qualification standard.

The AP Invitational is part of the World Athletics Continental Tour and marks the return of the track and field event for the first time since 2019.

Ogando has a personal best of 10.09 seconds in the 100m, clocked in 2022. This season, he has not yet competed in the 100m, instead focusing on the 200m, where he has recorded a time of 20.26 seconds.

His 200m personal best is 19.91 seconds, a performance that earned him gold at the 2022 Central American and Caribbean Games and set a new national record for the Dominican Republic.

The 24-year-old Ogando also found success in the Mixed Relays, teaming up with Lidio Andrés Feliz, Marileidy Paulino and Anabel Medina to finish second (3:10.21) at the Tokyo Olympics, behind Poland (3:09.87) and ahead of the USA (3:10.22).

Ogando again linked with Feliz, Paulino, and Fiordaliza Cofil to win the 4x400m mixed relay at the 2022 World Championships with a time of 3:09.82, beating the Netherlands (3:09.90) and the USA (3:10.16).

For Archibald, the country’s Pan Am Games bronze medallist, the AP Invitational could be a crucial opportunity to achieve direct qualification for the Paris Olympics.

This season, Archibald competed in French Guiana, where he recorded a time of 10.13 seconds to win the men’s 100m event, equalling his personal best.

Also featuring in the Men’s 100m at the AP Invitational is St Kitts and Nevis’ former national champion, Jason Rogers, who was the starter in his country’s third-place finish in the Men’s 4x100m relay at the 2011 World Championships.

Rogers partnered with the legendary Kim Collins, Antoine Adams and Brijesh Lawrence to run 38.49 seconds, but it was the Jamaican quartet of Nesta Carter, Michael Frater, Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt that set a (then) world record time of 37.04 seconds to win gold. France finished third with a time of 38.20 seconds.

Trinidad and Tobago’s Kyle Greaux, better known for his 200m ability, will also compete in the 100m.

Greaux secured a second-place finish with Trinidad and Tobago in the 4x100m relay finals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where Guyana finished fourth.

He was also part of their 2017 World Relay Championship silver medal team and featured on the team that finished second in the 4x100m relay at the 2019 Pan Am Games.

Akeem Stewart and Arinze Chance are the other Guyanese athletes competing in the 100m at the AP Invitational.

The event will also include Yohandris Andujar (Dominican Republic), Melbin Marcelino (Dominican Republic), Carlos Palacios (Dominican Republic), Ronal Longa (Colombia), and Alaba Akintola (Nigeria).

Organiser Aliann Pompey said she is looking forward to the Men’s 100m match-up, especially considering the women’s event that will feature Guyana’s national record holder Jasmine Abrams, Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye and Namibia’s 100m record holder, Beatrice Masilingi.