Athletics Association eyeing June nationals, says Cornelius

0
269
A number of athletes could get an opportunity to compete in their first national championships should the Athletics Association succeed in hosting the event this year
- Advertisement -

By Neto Baptiste

The Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA) could host its first full-scale National Championships in two years with the planned staging of the event later this year.

This is according to the association’s head and former national athlete, Everton Cornelius, who said the body has already earmarked a possible date when the championships could be held.

“All things holding true, in June, because World Championships will be in July, but I don’t think we will have our National Championships before the Commonwealth Games, so we will have a number of individual development meets leading up to that. We will go to whatever meets we can go to regionally, I don’t think internationally, but more regionally than anything else,” he said.

Last year, the association put on a scaled-down version of the national championships after a number of the country’s senior athletes were forced to pull out due to schedule complications. The planned championships was also in doubt following news that the association had failed to secure the proper permission from the health authorities to host the event.

Cornelius assured however that the body will be providing all its members, including athletes and officials, with a full schedule of events in short order.

“It is not so much about having dialogue about nationals, but just sending the overall programme of events we will be having for the season, and the events we will be participating in, or that we will hopefully participating in, because some of them are by qualification and that information will go out to all of our overseas athletes and local athletes, and I think that is supposed to be going out this week,” he said.

National sprinter Chevaughn Walsh dominated the men’s marquee event, the 100 meters sprint at the Antigua and Barbuda Athletics Association (ABAA) National Track & Field Championships held at the YASCO Sports Complex over the weekend. 

In July last year, sprinter Chevaughn Walsh clocked 10.39 seconds to finish ahead of the field and take the gold medal in the men’s marquee event, the 100 meters sprint.

He beat Daniel Bryan (10.69 seconds) and Jamaica based Coull Graham (10.76 seconds) into second and third respectively. 

The women’s equivalent was captured by Alyssa Dyette in 12.20 seconds. Mia McIntosh crossed the line in 12.55 seconds to grab silver while Winisha Steele-Michael was third in 13.08 seconds. 

The association last hosted a senior national championships in 2016. 

- Advertisement -