By Rawle Toney in Birmingham (Team Guyana Press Attaché)
So close, but yet so far! Guyana’s team of Akeem Stewart, Emanuel Archibald, Arinze Chance and Noelex Holder ran 4th in the men’s 4x100m finals at the Commonwealth Games, with a time of 40.05s.
The quartet’s performance had them finishing behind England (38.35s), Trinidad and Tobago (38.70s) and Nigeria (38.81s).
It was the first time the country has participated in the relay at the games which started in 1930.
A capacity-filled Alexander Stadium saw Akeem Stewart giving Guyana a blistering start in lane 8, handing the baton over to Archibald on the second leg.
The National 100m champion had a tough leg running against England’s Zharnel Hughes. At the time of the handover to Chance, the Englishmen, Nigeria and Trinidad and Tobago had caught up with Guyana.
Chance hammered his turn and was fourth by the time the handover to Holder.
In the final leg, Holder had to cover some grounds to push the team into their finishing position.
Guyana’s exchanges could’ve been tighter and finishing just outside the medal bracket could be blamed on their poor execution of the baton.
“The world knows now that Guyana is coming!” Stewart said in a post-race interview.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) athlete stated that the race execution didn’t go according to plan, but they’re grateful for the results.
According to Archibald, “fourth place at the Commonwealth Games is good. It means we’re one step away. We need more competition (in the Relays), so maybe they will send us to the NACAC Games to give us another opportunity.”
The North American, Central American and Caribbean Athletic Association (NACAC) Senior Championship is set for August 19 – 21 in The Bahamas.
Meanwhile, Arinze, like Archibald, is asking for more chances to participate in major meets.
Though disappointed at not securing a medal, the University of South Carolina All-American stated “If you look at the guys and the teams who beat us, they got full support from not only their federation and their government, but their local fans.”
“We came out here not knowing what to expect and we were able to get fourth, in great company, so I know a lot of people might say we didn’t get a medal, but to us, I think we did pretty good. Things didn’t go as planned, but we practised no more than three days, including today, and if we get more opportunities to run the 4×100, we will be able to not just break the national record but win a medal for Guyana,” Chance said.
The country’s National 4x100m record (39.59s) was set at the 1975 Pan Am Games by James Wren-Gilkes, Dennis Collison (father of former NBA player Darren Collison), Clifton Schultz and Aubrey ‘Skinny’ Wilson.
“Many people didn’t expect this from Guyana,” Holder shared.
Flanked by his smiling teammates, Holder noted, “One of the major things we would like is to have more exposure like this. Putting together a team, random members and still did well…but, if we can put together the same team, get more practice, I’m sure we can break the national record and compete with the big guys out there.”
Yesterday’s 4x100m relay finals brought the curtain down on Guyana’s participation at the Commonwealth Games, finishing without any medals.
At the 2018 games, Troy Dorris won Guyana’s lone medal –gold– in the Men’s Triple jump. Now, the country will have to wait another four years for the games in Victoria, Australia.
