Shamar Horatio produced a remarkable double-podium performance at the South American Games, claiming individual 200m bronze before anchoring Guyana’s 4x100m relay team to a record-shattering bronze in Santa Fe, Argentina.
Horatio got Guyana’s track medal campaign underway on Thursday evening with a blistering run in the Men’s 200m final, stopping the clock at a personal-best 20.53 seconds.
Colombia’s Ronal Longa took gold in 20.43 seconds, narrowly edging Ecuador’s Katriel Angulo (20.50s) into silver.
The race brought heartbreak for fellow Guyanese runner Tishawn Easton, who pulled up clutching his hamstring midway through the bend after qualifying strongly from the heats.
Horatio returned to the track shortly after to anchor the Men’s 4x100m relay team to another landmark podium finish.
The quartet of Akeem Stewart, Onesi Dunn, Revon Williams and Horatio delivered a seamless performance to cross the line in 39.23 seconds, taking bronze and obliterating a 50-year-old national record of 39.59 seconds that had stood since the 1975 Pan American Games.
The track success adds to Guyana’s medal count at the Games, joining earlier podium finishes secured by boxer Emmanuel Pompey and taekwondo athlete Ceili Peterson.
In the field events, six-time national champion Leslain Baird produced a valiant season’s best throw of 77.69m in the Men’s Javelin final, narrowly missing out on the medals to finish fourth overall against a high-calibre South American lineup.
On the track earlier in the week, Simeon Adams reached the Men’s 400m final with a season-best 47.12 seconds in his heat, eventually placing sixth in 47.53 seconds behind Brazil’s gold medalist Alison Alves (44.61s).
In the women’s sprint events, Kenisha Phillips missed out on the 200m final after posting 24.67 seconds in her heat, having previously registered 55.41 seconds in the 400m semi-finals.
Away from athletics, tennis star Sachia Vickery continued her impressive singles campaign.
After capitalising on a first-round bye with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Paraguay’s Leyla Britez, Vickery battled past Chile’s Antonia Vergara 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 to march into the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s squash contingent exited at the quarter-final stage, with both the men’s and women’s teams suffering 3-0 defeats against Peru and Colombia respectively, following impressive early-round victories over Bolivia.
Source: News Room Guyana
