Junior Pan Am Games: Keliza Smith powers into 200m final

Guyana’s Keliza Smith has powered into the women’s 200m final at the Junior Pan American Games after a strong performance in her semifinal heat in Paraguay on Wednesday evening.

Smith won her semifinal, crossing the line in 23.08 seconds, a time that marks a new season’s best for the sprinter and puts her just shy of the national record of 22.94, set by Brenessa Thompson in 2017.

She finished ahead of Canada’s Emily Martin (23.76) and Colombia’s Marletth Ospino (23.81).

Smith will run out of Lane 7 in the final on Thursday, scheduled for 17:10h.

In the men’s 400m final, Malachi Austin finished seventh with a time of 46.67 seconds. Jamaica’s Jasauna Dennis won the race with a time of 45.56, clinching the gold medal.

Jaden Marchan of Trinidad and Tobago took silver in 45.80, while Vinicius Galeno of Brazil completed the podium with a bronze in 45.83.

Meanwhile, Shamar Horatio did not progress from his men’s 200m semifinal.

Horatio finished sixth in his heat, stopping the clock at 21.35 seconds in a race won by Jaiden Reid of the Cayman Islands in 20.56.

Thus far, Guyana has won two bronze medals at the event – swimmer Raekwon Noel and the 4x400m Mixed Relay team.

FULL RESULTS: https://results.asuncion2025.org/#/discipline/ATH/results/W.200M————–.FNL-.000100–