Minister Jacobs fulfills commitment to National U-20 athletes

Minister within the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steven Jacobs, has fulfilled a government pledge to Guyana’s rising track stars, handing over gear to the Under-20 athletes who impressed at the South American Games in Peru.

The engagement, held as the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) shifts focus toward the upcoming CARIFTA Games in Grenada, served as a “thank you” to the squad that delivered one of the nation’s most memorable relay performances in recent years.

In November, the men’s 4x400m relay team—comprising Tishawn Easton, Kaidon Persaud, Skylar Charles, and Javon Roberts—produced a tactical masterclass in Lima. The quartet clocked 3:14.40, narrowly out-leaning powerhouse nations Colombia and Brazil in a photo-finish to secure the gold medal.

Roberts also produced a strong run in the men’s 800m, capturing bronze in 1 minute, 51.98 seconds.

Meanwhile, the CARIFTA Games return to the Kirani James Stadium in Grenada this Easter (April 4–6), and several athletes have already punched their tickets to St. George’s over the weekend at the AAG’s Development Meet.

Roberts continued his fine form, winning his U-20 heat in 1:54.07, comfortably under the 1:55.00 benchmark and Onesi Dunn arguably produced the performance of the weekend in the 100m, blitzing the field in 10.34s, well under the mark of 10.55s.

More so,  Easton secured his spot with a 21.43s finish while budding sprint stars Tesianna Harris (12.04s) and Angel Jeffrey (11.89s) both dipped under the qualifying mark in a thrilling 100m battle.

Upcoming for the AAG will be three key qualifying meets, scheduled for February 1, 21, and 28 at the National Track and Field Facility, West Coast Demerara.

Following the final selection, the squad will undergo an intensive training camp from March 20–29.

Guyana will be looking to build on last year’s performance in Trinidad and Tobago, where the  record-breaking squad of 42 returned with five medals.