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Drawing from his own experiences as a young athlete, he highlighted the government’s dedication to enhancing sports infrastructure across Guyana.

Phillips hinted at the possibility of hosting next year’s championship at the “state-of-the-art synthetic track” in Linden, which is currently under construction.

Deputy Chief Education Officer with responsibility for Hinterland Education Development, Marti DeSouza, while delivering remarks on behalf of the Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, noted sports not only bring out the best in the nation’s children but it also provide a platform for unification.

Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer Mohammed Saddam Hussain, in his remarks, urged the athletes to perform their best.

President of the Guyana Teachers’ Union, Dr Mark Lyte, in brief remarks, stated over the next five days the goal is to continue the legacy of supporting and preparing the nation’s young athletes for the global stage, surpassing the achievements of previous years.

The Championships run from November 26 to December 1.

This year, some 1600 athletes are set to compete in the various disciplines

On Monday, November 27, 2023, the Cycling and Swimming events will be held at the National Park and National Aquatic Centre, respectively.

From November 28 to December 1, the Track and Field events will occur at the National Track and Field Centre, West Coast Demerara.

This year, Banks DIH Ltd., Digicel Guyana, and Impressions sponsored the championships this year.

danielle@newsroom.gy

Budding cycling talents Alexander Leung and Savannah Hyles won the first two gold medals at the 61st edition of the National Schools, Cycling, Swimming and Track and Field Championships that commenced Sunday in Georgetown.

For the day, the duo renamed the road races after themselves, as there was little to no doubt who was the champion rider from start to finish on the outer circuit of the National Park.

Leung of District 11 (North Georgetown) crossed the finish line in a commanding time of 1:06.82s (one hour, six minutes, and eighty-two seconds), three minutes ahead of his closest competitor in the Boys Open 40km race.

Sebastian Nathan of District 7 (Cuyuni/Mazaruni) secured second place, while Ajani Cutting of District 14 (East Bank Demerara) rounded out the podium.

Savannah Hyles was the top female in the 25km road race

In the girls’ race, Hyles of District 10 (Upper Demerara/Kwakwani) displayed exceptional endurance for the top spot, with Suria Duncan of District 6 (Corentyne) following closely behind.

Coreen Mandook claimed third place with an impressive ride for District 9  (Rupunui), which competed for the first time in cycling at Nationals.

These names are likely to be on the podium again as the cycling actions moves to the inner circuit of the National Park from 09:00h today.

Last year, District 10 emerged as the overall champions of cycling as riders from Upper Demerara/Kwakwani amassed 245 points to win ahead of District Seven (Cuyuni Mazaruni) with 228 points and District Six (Corentyne) with 204 points.

RESULTS: 

40 KM Road Race Boys Open Cycling Final

1st Alexander Leung, District 11

2nd Sebastian Nathan, District 7

3rd Ajani Cutting, District 14

4th Nivonne Wilson, District 13

5th Alex Newton, District 11

25 KM Road Race Girls Open Cycling Final

1st Savannah Hyles, District 10

2nd Suria Duncan, District 6

3rd Coreen Mandook, District 9

4th Dasica Batson, District 15

5th Tandeia Noel, District 7

 

Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

He said not only does Essequibo belongs to Guyana, as it has been for over 100 years, but he was happy that the citizens want it to remain that way forever.

“The Guyana Government and opposition agree that Essequibo has been Guyana since 1899,” Jagdeo said to loud applause, shouts and the waving of scores of flags by those gathered.

He assured residents that Venezuela will never succeed in changing Guyana’s boundary. He calls it Venezuela’s imperial design.

“Now and long into the future you will remain Essequibians and citizens of the country of Guyana.

“You will continue to live in a democratic country and you and your children will continue to share in the prosperity that is emerging in our country.

“Young people, older people, everyone and we must have this great sense of pride in our country,” Jagdeo posited.

He warned the Nicloas Maduro government not to question the resolve or unity of Guyanese or even worse, miscalculate Guyana’s response to any possible invasion.

Guyana is planning for all eventualities with defence teams from the United States to arrive here from this week.

And Jagdeo, confident that Guyana will remain 83,000 square miles, said should Venezuela succeed, then no boundary in the world will be safe.

“…If they succeed, that will mean that any country can one day decide to repudiate century old borders on the basis of spurious claims,” Jagdeo added.

The Guyanese Vice President took jabs at Venezuela’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez who he said has been the bulldog in spreading lies surrounding the controversy.

Among those lies are that the borders between Guyana and Venezuela was never settled and that the 1899 arbitral award is void.

To this end, he said Guyanese must be careful not to spread those every lies being told by the Venezuelan authorities.

“Sometimes we spread their rumours more than trying to fight off the lies… spreading the rumors have created a lot of unease… many people are worried.

“In another part of the media we had to fight off another rumor… they said people are fleeing from Region One… we check the number of aircraft, it is the same.

“One guy said the ferry is overbooked… the ferry is always overbooked,” the VP pointed out.

Hundreds of Guyanese living along the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon – Supenaam) on Sunday gathered at Anna Regina in steadfast support of the land they have long called home and in rejection of moves by neighbouring Venezuela to annex Guyana’s Cinderella Country – Essequibo.

Jagdeo reassured citizens that Guyana has the support of the world and all are waiting to see the juridical process at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to conclusion. He said too that Guyana has strong diplomatic and military support.

“When this border is settled and it will be settled by the International Court of Justice… we are prepared to talk on any other matter except that one issue because for long, the bilateral approach has not yielded results… we still have to live as neighbours,” Jagdeo told Guyanese.

He closed his presentation with a reassurance that Guyana is not warmongering or belligerent but said Venezuela cannot be trusted.

“They say they don’t want to do anything but we can’t trust them given the rhetoric coming from there.”

The border controversy is squarely before the World Court and Guyana hopes for a final, binding settlement that reaffirms the 1899 Arbitral Award that established the existing boundary between itself and Venezuela.

Essentially, Guyana wants the court to reaffirm that the Essequibo region is its own.

Jagdeo said Guyana is open to dialogue with Venezuela but there will be no stopping of the process before the ICJ.

That promoted George Russell to third for Mercedes and, with Lewis Hamilton securing two points for ninth place, that was enough to keep Mercedes in second place by three points.

Leclerc’s strategy had been to let Perez by in the hope that Mexican, on fresher tyres, could build enough of a lead to negate his penalty, imposed for a collision with McLaren’s Lando Norris.

But Perez did not quite make it, and he dropped down to be classified 1.1 seconds behind Russell.

Leclerc could have chosen to back right off on the last lap and delay Russell further in the hope that could make the difference, but continued to drive at his pace.

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said: “At the end, he could have pulled the handbrake on in the last sector and I think that shows the character of a driver.”

The scant consolation for Leclerc was that he vaulted both Norris and his team-mate Carlos Sainz to take fifth in the drivers’ championship behind Verstappen, Perez, Hamilton and Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.

But Leclerc had said before the race that he did not care about that – and his face betrayed as much whilst he waited for the post-race interviews, his disappointment at the constructors’ result plain to see.

Norris was fifth ahead of team-mate Oscar Piastri, with Alonso seventh ahead of Alpha Tauri’s Yuki Tsunoda, Hamilton and the second Aston Martin of Lance Stroll.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands and Oracle Red Bull Racing poses for a photo with his team in parc ferme during the F1 Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi at Yas Marina Circuit on November 26, 2023 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Verstappen’s incredible season

Russell said he was delighted to secure the position for Mercedes. “It means a lot to everyone back at the factory after a difficult season,” he said. “I am really happy to sure second.”

Leclerc said: “Checo had a five-second penalty so we had to help him to finish in front of George, so I tried to give him the DRS and slipstream but unfortunately it was not enough.”

He said he was happy Ferrari had been the second fastest car in Abu Dhabi, disappointed to lose out on second in the championship but proud of the team for recovering strongly after they started the season with a difficult car.

Verstappen said: “An incredible season. I was a little emotional on the in-lap – it is the last time I am sitting in the car which has given me a lot.

“I am proud to win the last race. It was an incredible year. It will be hard to do something similar again.

“We are working hard again to have a very competitive car. The other teams will be trying to beat us but we are ready for the challenge.”

It had been known since Brazil two races ago that Verstappen would finish the season with a better win percentage than the previous record of 75% set by Alberto Ascari in 1952.

But to beat that by more than 10% underlines the scale of his achievement this year. (BBC Sport)