Guyana ends 12-year wait — Inter Guiana Games crown is coming home
Guyana’s young athletes are bringing the Inter Guiana Games overall title home for the first time in 12 years. The under-18 contingent topped the standings at the 2026 Games in Paramaribo, Suriname, finishing 31 points clear of their nearest rivals.
The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport announced the final standings on October 25: Guyana 475 points, French Guiana 444, and hosts Suriname 431. It is Guyana’s first overall crown since 2014. Suriname won the last edition in Georgetown, where Guyana finished second — this time the positions flipped.
Track and field carried the triumph. Guyana retained the athletics title at the André Kamperveen Stadium with 334 points, winning all five relays. On the opening day alone, Guyanese athletes took gold in the boys’ and girls’ 100 metres, 400 metres and 1500 metres, plus the boys’ long jump. The relay wins included the girls’ 4×400 metres in 4:24.06, the boys’ 4×400 metres in 3:46.01, and the mixed 4×400 metres in 4:13.16.
The men’s futsal team also retained its title, beating French Guiana 6-4 before edging hosts Suriname 7-5 in a 12-goal thriller on the final day. And in boxing, a sport making its Games debut, Guyana’s young boxers swept all five of their bouts against Suriname.
It was not a clean sweep across the board. Suriname won the swimming with 288 points, though Guyana’s swimmers still claimed three medals on the opening day, including Kyra Soares’s silver and two bronzes from Andica Vieira. Guyana’s basketball teams went winless, and Suriname took top points in volleyball and chess.
The Games, a regional fixture since 1967, featured six core disciplines — track and field, basketball, volleyball, swimming, chess and futsal — plus two debut sports chosen by the hosts, boxing and judo. French Guiana takes over hosting duties in 2027, where Guyana will go in as defending champions.
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