Reigning champions Guyana were absent from Saturday’s 4x400m mixed relay at the CARIFTA Games in Trinidad and Tobago after their athletics association failed to register the team on time.
The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) missed the official submission deadline on April 19, ruling the South American nation out of one of the marquee events of the opening day.
The Bahamas team of Makaiah Hitchman, Emmanuel Adams, Jamiah Nabbie and Zion Miller went on to win the event.
In a statement, the AAG insisted it had followed proper procedure:
“The AAG followed standard protocols regarding the submission of our team for the event. Our team, consisting of Tianna Springer, Malachi Austin, Narissa McPherson, and Afi Blair, was submitted at 5:20 p.m. to the technical manager. This submission was initially accepted.”
However, the association said they were later informed that the submission had been made too late:
“We were informed that our submission was deemed late, as it did not meet a purported deadline of 5:15 p.m. Consequently, the competitions director informed our management that the team could not be entered.”
The relay was scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m local time, and the AAG maintains that its entry was submitted one hour and thirty-five minutes prior to the race—well within the one-hour window typically required under World Athletics rules.
“World Athletics rules stipulate that team submissions are permitted up to one hour before. We were not formally informed of this alteration, which seemingly moved the deadline to two hours before the event.”
Guyana, who are also the reigning Commonwealth Games champions in the event, have since received an apology from the regional organising committee.
However, the AAG has come under criticism from former athletes and sports commentators, who argue the failure to verify submission deadlines has cost the athletes a chance to defend their title on the regional stage.
The incident has been widely described as a significant embarrassment for Guyana’s athletics programme.
