By Jemima Holmes
Anisha Gibbons stamped her authority in Kingston, Jamaica this morning, adding a second CARIFTA Gold medal to her portfolio.
The 18-year-old Guyanese had throws ranging from 37.53m, 40.64m, 37.49m, 40.99m and a best throw of 42.54m, which assured her of the gold medal in the Girls’ Under 20 event. Gibbons topped a field of 8 other competitors from around the Caribbean; Barbados’ Vivica Addison finished second place with a best throw of 41.92m and another Bajan Vanessa Greaves was third, throwing 41.17m on her best attempt.
Gibbons, who compete for Ruralites Athlteics Club locally, is no stranger to the top of the podium, having won Guyana’s first javelin Gold at the 2019 CARIFTA Games in Cayman Islands. On that occasion, she competed in the Under 17 category.
Guyana has now won two gold and two silver medals thus far, in the ongoing CARIFTA Games.
More CARIFTA action on Sunday morning saw Attoya Harvey and Narissa McPherson, who have already medaled at the games in other events, qualifying for the Girls’ Under 17 800m final, with the best qualifying times out of the entire field of competitors.
Racing in different Heats, Harvey won Heat 1 with a time of 2:15.76 minutes, while McPherson clocked 2:19.89 to win Heat 2. Andrene Peart, Ricaria Campbell (Jamaica), Michelle Smith (USVI), Ashlyn Simmons (Barbados), Jaeda Grant (Bermuda), and Kayleigh Forde of Trinidad and Tobago will feature in Monday’s final alongside the dominant Guyanese duo.
In other preliminary events on Sunday’s morning session at the CARIFTA Games, Guyana had mixed fortunes in the Boys’ Under 20 200m. Shamar Horatio, clocking 21.83s, finished fourth in Heat 1 and while he was not an automatic qualifier, the Guyanese had the best time out of the other racers, thus gaining him a spot in this afternoon’s Semifinal.
On the other hand, Ezekiel Newton missed a semifinal berth, after crossing the line fifth in Heat 4 with a time of 22.28s.
