Boyd twins give best Vincentian showing at World Youth Championships

The best showing to date, by Vincentian athletes at the World Youth Championships, has been posted by twin brothers Roberto and Reuberth Boyd.{{more}}

Participating in the 2013 edition last week in Donetsk, Ukraine, Roberto reached the semi-finals of both the 100m and the 200m, while Reuberth advanced to the semi-final stage of the 200m.

Roberto timed 10.86 seconds in the 100 m, finishing second in his heat and earning an automatic place in the semi-finals.

In the semi-finals, he returned a time of 10.82 seconds, placing third, with the 13th fastest time out of the 24 semi-finalists.

In the 200m, Roberto clocked a personal best of 21.78 seconds, which saw him third, as he advanced as one of the fastest losers.

Roberto in the semi-finals placed 7th in 22.16 seconds, which put him 19th of the 22 competitors.

Meanwhile, Reuberth’s clocking of 10.88 seconds in the 100m was not good enough for him to get to the semi-finals.

However, in the 200m, his time of 21.88 seconds put him first in his heat and earned him a spot in the semi-finals.

Reuberth did 22.02 seconds – a timing which saw him 17th of the 22 athletes.

The Boyd twins are coached by the unheralded Garth deShong.

Before them, Kineke Alexander had advanced to the 200m female semi-finals in 2001 in Debrecen, Hungary, but did not start.

Alexander also competed in the 400m at the championships, but failed to get past the heats.

When the championships were held in 2003 in Sherbrooke, Canada, Alexander was again St Vincent and the Grenadines’ lone athlete.

She qualified for the 400 m semi-finals, but her 57.49 seconds clocking put her 14th of the 16 semi finalists.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ participation at the World Championships dates back to 1999, when Simone Nanton contested the female 200 and 400 meters in Bvdgoszcz, Poland.

Nanton clocked 25.39 seconds in the 200m to be fourth in her heat and 57.87 seconds in the 400m in the heats.

She got no further.

Jadric Cummings was St Vincent and the Grenadines participant at the 2005 championships held in Marakesh, Morocco. Cummings’ 11.26 seconds in the male 100m was too slow for a place in the semi-finals.

The duo of Aneisha Anderson and Courtney Williams donned the Vincentian colours at the 2007 championships staged in Ostrava, Czech Republic. Neither got past the 100m heats.

Likewise, in 2009, Lyndon Samuel ran the male 400m. His time of 52.50 seconds gave him a ranking of 54th out of 55.

And, at the 2011 Lille, France, World Youth Championships, Brandon Valentine-Parris’ 800m efforts of 1 minute 59.48 seconds, placed him 51st of the 52 athletes in the heats.(RT)