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Aliyah Abrams spent her freshman year for the South Carolina track and field team enjoying one of the best seasons by a Gamecock in recent years after earning First Team All-America honors in the outdoor 400 meter relay and Second Team All-America honors in the 400 meter dash. Now she hopes to make more history as she represents Guyana at the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.Its something you always dream about when you are young and running track, Abrams said. It was always something I had planted in my mind, but I didnt think it was going to happen so soon. I was very excited when I learned I made the team.Abrams was born in Brooklyn, New York, and has lived outside of Atlanta since she was three. With both of her parents hailing from Guyana, the 19 year old enjoys dual citizenship. The small South American nation has earned only one Olympic medal in the history of the summer games with a bronze medal in boxing in 1980.It would mean a lot to medal, Abrams said. I grew up here in the United States, but my parents didnt let me forget their culture. Every day is a reminder of where they are from with their accent and the food we eat. Its all the stuff that they grew up on, so I grew up on it too.While she hasnt spent much time in Guyana, she has a sense of pride for the country she will represent in the Olympics.I went there about a month ago, Abrams said. Its very colorful. You have a lot of very fresh food. Its different from what I am used to here in the United States, but it is very nice there. My mom says Guyana is called the `land of many waters because there are a lot of rivers that run through it, and it is home to the worlds largest (single drop) waterfall (Kaieteur Falls).Abrams began running competitively in the sixth grade, and it didnt take long for her to realize she was good at it. After an outstanding first year at the collegiate level, she appreciates the efforts of head coach Curtis Frye and all that the track and field program has to offer in helping her fulfill her dream of competing in the Olympics.Coach Frye has coached a lot of Olympians and professional athletes, so getting used to how intense he wants us to work out and prepare is really good preparation for me to compete at this level, Abrams said. Ive also learned that I have to eat a lot better. I took advantage of the fact that we have a nutritionist here at South Carolina. I also made sure I had better recovery every day. I was always in the training room making sure Im good for the next day.Abrams was good on a lot of days for the Gamecocks. In addition to her two All-America nods, she also finished the outdoor season as the nations fastest freshman in the 400 meters. Still, she hopes to do better.In the first year, I was just trying to get used to all of the meets and all of the travel, Abrams said. I knew it would be a lot to adjust to in my first year, but I did really well, so Im happy with my performances last year. I just like competing and making my time better.As she prepares to run against the worlds best at the Olympics, Abrams is excited to take in all that she can with her experience.Im looking forward to possibly running against the American runners such as Allyson Felix, Abrams said. If time allows, I would love to watch gymnastics and possibly the basketball games and maybe some swimming. There are a lot of great things going on.Abrams joins a strong contingent of South Carolina track and field alumnae competing in the Olympics this summer along with Natasha Hastings (USA), Kierre Beckles (Barbados), and Jeannelle Scheper (St. Lucia). 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The conflict endured for generations, with Britain hit by terrorist attacks during a long confrontation with the Irish Republican Army. But with a peace accord now in place and regular violence mostly a memory, match organizers say the time is right for the rivals to take each other on. "Its in the distance in the past now," Hodgson said. "There have been problems between the two countries. We cant rewrite history, but we are playing the match in completely different circumstances to the past." The new match also offers a chance for England to demonstrate it has made progress in tamping down on violence among some its supporters, who earned an international reputation in the 1980s and 90s for hooliganism. The team came close to being thrown out of the 2000 European Championship after rioting in Belgium. The 1995 match lasted just 28 minutes before the referee ordered the players off the field. England fans rampaged inside Dublins Lansdowne Road stadium, tearing up wooden benches and throwing them at opposing fans, before battling it out with Irish police. More than 20 people required hospital treatment and over 40 were arrested. Alan Kelly, who will be on Irelands bench on Wednesday as goalkeeping coach, was in goal 18 years ago and remembered the night as "horrendous." "The mayhem that was caused and the potentially life-threatening injuries some of the supporters could have sustained," Kelly recalled. "Some of the debris that came down from the stands was truly horrific." "We cant deny there have been some dark times," Hodgson said. The 1995 "friendly" game came three years before the landmark Good Friday Agreement that transformed relations between the U.K. and Irelland after a conflict stretching backing decades.dddddddddddd Although the paramilitary bloodshed has receded considerably since the 1998 accord, there was a reminder of the ongoing civil strife in Northern Ireland the hours before the teams trained on Tuesday in London. Two pipe bombs were thrown at a police vehicle as two officers, who escaped injury as they responded to a bogus emergency call. No group claimed responsibility for the ambush in an Irish Catholic part of north Belfast, but Irish Republican Army splinter groups regularly target police as part of their efforts to undermine Northern Irelands peace process. The spectre of the IRA has been ever-present at England games for years, with fans chanting "No surrender to the IRA" at stadiums both home and abroad. Its these incendiary chants that the Football Association is pleading with fans to refrain from on Wednesday. "Wembley is considered the world over as the home of football and we ask those attending to not take part in any chanting -- particularly of a religious or political perspective -- which could cause offence to our visitors or fellow fans," Hodgson wrote in an email sent to ticketholders. The last England-Ireland match to be completed ended in a 1-1 draw in March 1991 in London. The countries have not attempted to play a friendly game since and havent had to play each other in qualifiers for the World Cup and European Championship because they havent been matched in a random draw. Police and stewards will be out in force to guard against any repeat of crowd violence. There was last violence at Wembley last month when Millwall fans fought with workers and each other during a loss to Wigan. In 2011, a Wales supporter was killed in an attack outside Wembley by an England fan, who was later jailed for three years. But for the most part, England fans have been travelling the world without major incidents for more than a decade. "Long before I came into the job I knew that the behaviour and reputation of England fans has developed into something we all should be very proud of," said Hodgson, who has been England coach for a year. "World Cups in South Africa and Germany in the last decade are shining examples of this. "So I hope everyone who follows England understands that position has been built by many fans over a long period of time and sadly it can be undone very quickly by a minority." ' ' '