Guyana’s leading long jumper, Emanuel Archibald, claimed a hard-fought silver medal on Sunday at the South American Championships in Athletics, held in Argentina.
The 29-year-old Olympian registered a leap of 7.76 metres on April 27, the last day of competition, narrowly missing out on gold by just three centimetres. Uruguay’s Emiliano Lasa took top spot with a best mark of 7.79m, while Peru’s Jose Luis Mandros delighted the crowd by taking bronze with a jump of 7.73m.
It was one of two medals for Guyana at the championship. Two days before, Hooper produced a solid jump of 13.64 metres to claim bronze in the women’s triple jump, behind Brazil’s Laila Ferrer de Sousa, who claimed gold with a leap of 13.96m and her compatriot, Nubia Da Silva, took silver with a jump of 13.76m..
Archibald, who is better known internationally as a sprinter, represented Guyana in the men’s 100m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. He also holds the national record in the long jump.
Despite blustery conditions and strong competition on the last day, Archibald delivered a consistent series of efforts, with his best jump securing his place on the podium. He entered the championships with a season’s best of 7.95m, achieved in Jamaica in March.
Guyana’s contingent at the championships also included Noelex Holder (200m), Akeem Stewart (100m), Shemar Horatio (200m), Analisa Redmond (long jump), Kerion DeSouza (100m), and Leslain Baird (javelin).
Brazil reaffirmed their dominance, topping the medal table with an outstanding 52-medal haul — 20 gold, 19 silver and 13 bronze. Colombia claimed second place with 17 medals – 7 gold, 7 silver and 3 bronze, while Chile followed with 5 gold, 2 silver and 7 bronze. Hosts Argentina secured 3 gold, 4 silver and 6 bronze on home soil.
