U. S-based teenage track star Kadecia Baird epitomises this notion
Kadecia Baird is one of the fastest female high school sprinters in NY
When raw talent meets coaching expertise and adequate facilities in an enabling environment, success is likely to be the end result, as long as discipline and commitment are also significant variables in the equation.
In one particular case, about 20 years ago, the formula was manipulated and the result was a three-time Olympian named Aliann Pompey, who has Guyana’s national 400m record as well as a Commonwealth gold and silver medal and several other accolades on the track.
That formula has once again proven that Guyana has talent like the rest of the Caribbean track powerhouses, and 16- year-old Medgar Evers Prep High School sophomore Kadecia Baird epitomises this fact.
Kadecia’s talent sky rocketed after migrating to the U. S. A. three years ago, and she is now one of the fastest female high school sprinters in her new home in Brooklyn, New York. She is a permanent fixture on her top-ranked school’s relay team, and has helped them to victories and outstanding performances at several championship meets, including the Millrose Games, the Taco Bell Track and Field Classic, and the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.
Kadecia, who grew up in John Street Campbellville, is now a member of her school’s 4x100m and 4x400m teams that are reportedly ranked number one in the state.
But before she was helping her school to make the headlines in the New York Post, or before they were featured online at www. athletic. net and www. caribbeantracklife.com, Kadecia was competing on the many grass tracks in Guyana, passionately pursuing a junior national title.
Kadecia Baird
At the PSAL Jim McKay Memorial Invitational, Kadecia topped a field of 153 participants that entered the event and won the varsity finals in 40.25 seconds. Her 300m personal best time is 39.59, which she recorded to win the Brooklyn Borough championship in February last year.
With the exception of former Sportswoman of the Year Alisha Fortune, there may not be any locally based females running under 25 seconds in the 200m. Kadecia, on the other hand, has recorded several 24-second performances less than three years after she migrated.
She recalled running a 28- second 200m in Guyana, but last season at the Taco Bell Classic, Kadecia won the emerging and elite athletes varsity 200m final in 24.75 seconds (wind assisted) after posting 24.70 in the heat.
Kadecia has impressive personal records of 11.9s in the 100m, 24.4 in the 200m and 56 seconds in the 400m.
If she still lived in Guyana, those times would not just make her the fastest junior, but it would mean she would be quite a challenge for perennial national champion Alisha Fortune, who has not been beaten on local soil over the past five years. During her brief stay back home this month, Kadecia registered with the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) after informing them of her performances abroad. “I think I wanna [represent Guyana in the future]…. It would mean a lot to me, because it’s my birth country,” Kadecia said.
With those times, Kadecia should have ample opportunity to represent Guyana this summer at some of the prestigious junior competitions, such as the World Youth Championships, the Commonwealth Youth Games as well as the Pan American and South American Junior Championships.
Although she is currently one of the best at her age in NY, Kadecia admitted that making the U. S. Olympic team is going to be a very tough task. However, she intends to realise her Olympic dream by the 2016 Olympic Games, which will be hosted by Guyana’s southern neighbour, Brazil.
Focused on achieving her dream, Kadecia plans to represent Guyana as much as she can and continue to improve so that come 2016, she will be on the red, white, black, yellow and green (Golden Arrowhead colours) team.
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