By Neto Baptiste
Antigua and Barbuda’s track athletes, although advancing to the finals in their respective races, missed out on the medals across two separate competitions over the weekend.
Competing at the Commonwealth Youth Games held in Trinidad, sprinters Kasiya Daley and Dwayne Fleming both advanced to the final of the men’s 100 meters under-18 sprint. Daley registered a time of 10.87 seconds in his semifinal heat while Fleming clocked 10.90 seconds to advance to the final.
However, Daley, who recently won gold at the NACAC Championships, registered a time of 10.67 seconds to finish seventh in the final. Fleming was unable to compete in the final after reportedly falling ill.
Meanwhile, national women sprinters, Geolyna Dowdye and LaNica Locker just missed podium spots in the 100 meters under-18 event, finishing fourth and fifth respectively.
Dowdie registered a time of 11.66 in fourth while Locker clocked 11.67 seconds to finish fifth in the highly competitive final.
Meanwhile, at the Pan American Junior Championships held in Puerto Rico, sprinter Ajani Daley finished seventh in the men’s 200 meters final, posting a time of 21.28 seconds. Daley had previously registered a time of 21.33 in the preliminaries.
Antigua and Barbuda’s other contender, US-based Shavique Bascus, registered a DNS (Did Not Start) after having clocked 20.99 seconds in the preliminaries. Reports are that Bascus fell ill with a suspected stomach bug.
On Friday, Daley finished sixth in the men’s 100 meters final after posting a time of 10.55 seconds. The race was captured by Tyler Azcano in a time of 10.26 seconds. Meanwhile, Bascus registered a DNS (Did Not Start) after clocking 10.76 in heat three to qualify for the final.
