Rising sprint star Keliza Smith has delivered a breakthrough performance for Guyana, capturing a bronze medal in the Women’s 100m final at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Pan American Junior Games medalist finished the highly competitive final in a time of 11.59 seconds at the Prince Faisal Bin Fahad Stadium, securing Guyana’s first podium finish of the Games.
She came behind Bahrain’s Edidiong Odiong, who won gold in 11.17s, and Cameroon’s Kolle Etame Herverge Tonjock, who claimed silver in 11.38s.
Smith had comfortably booked her place in the final earlier in the day, confidently winning her Round 1 heat with a time of 11.62 seconds.
Although her final time was slightly outside her season’s best of 11.45s.
The strong momentum continued for Guyana in the Women’s 400m, where national standout Aaliyah Abrams advanced to the final.
Abrams placed third in Heat Two, clocking 53.01 seconds to carry her through to the medal showdown comfortably. She will contest the final from Lane 8, looking to improve on the time, which was a distance from her season’s best of 51.36.
On the men’s side, the 200m sprinters faced a more formidable challenge and failed to progress to the next round.
Noel Holder finished his race in 21.25 seconds, while Robert Marcus clocked 21.93 seconds, placing seventh in his heat and missing out on qualification.
Despite the individual setbacks, Guyana’s track campaign remains alive as the Men’s 4x100m relay team is set to compete in the final from Lane 2.
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