Forde out of local South American 10K
Cleveland Forde
Cleveland Forde

THIS Sunday’s local leg of the South America 10K Classic road race will go on without the participation of Guyana’s top distance man Cleveland ‘Little Kenyan’ Forde, after he indicated that he will not be a part of the Guyanese line-up competing in the international event.According to Forde, he has been suffering from injury to his Achilles tendon. He had been suffering from the injury as far back as May, and it was further compounded by his performance at the Joint Services Championships last month and then the Suriname leg of the South American 10k Classic three weeks ago, he says. The 31-year-old says he feels awful about missing the event.
“It got worst after the Joint Services, but it’s been affecting me way before Joint Services, since in May, so I’m doing therapy now. I feel terrible it’s not a nice feeling that competition is there and you just have to watch it and can’t compete,” Forde said.
This now leaves the Guyana side to be headed by Cleveland Thomas and Winston Missigher, in the competition where athletes are expected from all across South America and the Caribbean region.
Forde’s absence means a missed opportunity for him to try and match strides with Peruvians Yerson Orellana and Luis Ostos, who are expected to be among those in this Sunday’s line-up. It was last year that 23-year-old Orellana ended Forde’s seven-year reign as the title-holder. Forde was relegated all the way to fourth place, with Ostos taking second and Trinidad and Tobago-based Kenyan, Kenneth Rotich, winning third. Orellana clocked 31:08.00s for that win.
This leaves Forde with only having participated in one leg of the three-part event, which also features a 10k event in Suriname and Panama. Most recently, Forde ran a disappointing 34 minutes 9 seconds, but still took the win, at the Suriname South American 10k Classic three weeks ago.
Forde has had a tough year so far, with his hopes of going sub-30 minutes in a 10k continuing to elude him, with his fastest 10k timings for the year being the 32 minutes and 39 seconds that he clocked at the CARICOM 10k back in July.
Earlier this year too he suffered his only 10k loss of the year when he lost to Missigher in the Golden Jubilee 10km Road Race back in May. Missigher had clocked 32:46.00s for that win.

 

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