Felix Sanchez wins the 400m Hurdles world title (© Getty Images)
Mexico's Ana Guevara and Dominican Republic's Felix Sanchez were elected the best athletes of the Central American and Caribbean Confederation (CACAC) for the second consecutive year, as a result of a survey carried out by experts from the region.
Guevara and Sanchez continued their undefeated campaign, claiming the Pan American Games title in Santo Domingo and the World Championships gold in Paris. They were also chosen as the best Latin American sportsman and woman of 2003, according to a poll organised by the Latin American News Agency Prensa Latina.
Guevara
The 26-year old star from the northern Mexican state of Sonora became the first woman to run 400 metres under 49 seconds after the 1996 Atlanta Olympic final. Her personal best (48.89) placed her as the eighth fastest one-lap runner of all times.
Her superb performance earned her 44 points, enough to prevail over Cuba's World Hammer champion Yipsi Moreno (37), Jamaica's Paris silver medallists, 100-metres Hurdler Brigitte A. Foster (22) and 400 metres runner Lorraine Fenton (16), as well as Cuba's Yamilé Aldama (12), who took the area record to 15.29, only 0.21cm off the World Record.
Sanchez
Sanchez extended his dominance over 400 metres Hurdles and saved his best race for Paris, where he clocked 47.25 to confirm himself as the seven fastest man ever in this event.
With 45 points, the California-based athlete defeated Saint Kitts and Nevis' Kim Collins (36), the surprising World Championships 100m winner in the French capital. Third place went to Cuba's triple jumper Yoandri Betanzos (17), who was Pan American champion in Santo Domingo and silver medallist in Paris. He was followed by Trinidad & Tobago's Darrel Brown (14), runner-up to Collins in Paris, where he improved the World junior record to 10.01.
The fifth spot went to Germaine Mason (7), a High Jump revelation this season. He claimed the Pan American gold with a personal best of 2.34 and made it to the World final in Paris.
Junior awards - Brown beats Bolt
Brown and Cuba's Yudelkis Fernandez were elected the best male and female junior athletes.
Brown (19) prevailed over Jamaican star Usain Bolt (22), who equalled the 200-metres World Junior record with a 20.13 run in Barbados and added the World Youth title in Sherbrooke to his pedigree. Three Cubans followed: triple jumper David Giralt (18), a 17.31 metre performer with a fourth place in Paris; long jumper Wilfredo Martinez (7), who ended the season with a 7.90 personal best and a win in Barbados, as well as triple jumper Dennis Fernandez (3), who claimed the gold in Sherbrooke.
Yudelkis Fernandez, 18, won the Long and Triple Jump gold medals at the Pan-American Junior Champs in Barbados. She also bettered the national junior record in the first event to 6.69.
Fernandez (25) was followed by Jamaican sprinter Aneisha McLaughlin (17), middle distance runner Yuneisy Santiusty (11), a 800-1500 metres double winner in Barbados, discus thrower Lisandra Rodriguez (10), gold medallist in Sherbrooke, and high jumper Yarianni Arguelles (6), third in the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo.
The survey was organised by the Central American and Caribbean Confederation (CACAC), with the cooperation of statisticians and other experts of the region.
Founded in 1966, the CACAC comprises 30 countries and will organise its junior championships in Mexico in May. The main focus in 2004 is on the Olympic Games in Athens and the World Junior Championships in Grosseto, Italy.
