.jpg)
…T&T’s Shermin Lasaldo is female winner; injured Alika Morgan drops out
GUYANA’s Cleveland Forde, a debutant in the CARICOM 10km road race, dethroned four-time defending champion Pamenos Ballantyne of St Vincent and the Grenadines, in a swift 32m:52s during yesterday’s fifth installment of the annual event.
This is Forde’s sixth consecutive victory over Ballantyne who, until recently, has beaten him on numerous occasions. Forde said that it was a good race but he believes it could have been faster if not for the inclement weather that drenched the course.
He led the race from the start but Ballantyne, who clocked 33m:04s, took the lead at about the 6km mark and then it all came down to the battle on the Police Sports Club Ground where Forde overpowered Ballantyne to sprint to a convincing victory.
Both Forde and Ballantyne said that it was a good race though they believed it could’ve been faster.
Ballantyne attributes his first loss in the CARICOM 10km race to him nursing a recent injury, “3 months ago I strained my hamstring and I haven’t been able to train as hard as I would like” he said.
Ballantyne came in ahead of third place Curtis Cox (33m:51s) of Trinidad and Tobago.
Contrary to Forde’s success, defending female champion Alika Morgan walked away from yesterday’s race disappointed with her performance.
During the race Morgan was hampered by her, evidently unhealed, shin splint injury and was forced to discontinue the course.
Trinidadian Shermin Lasaldo won in the female category with her time of 40m: 12s with Grenadian Kenisha Pascal (44m:30s) coming in second while Christine Regis also of Trinidad placed third with her time of 46m:38s.
Guyana swept the special 5km event as Jamal Chilsolm and Janella Jonas won in the 16-20 yrs category with Tishanna Doris and Daniel Bernard beating out the competition in the 13-15 yrs category
. Guyanese Chevez Sital took the open category for the 5km with Rebicka Alexander as his female counterpart. Llewellyn Gardner won the masters category and the oldest individual to finish the race was Phillip Beckles.
Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport Dr. Frank Anthony in speaking at the presentation ceremony reiterated the theme of Health, Unity and Prosperity as he noted that the race was aimed at exhibiting the importance of physical activity.
He also lauded the event for its important role in bringing the residents of CARICOM together in healthy competition. Anthony commended both the youth and the veteran participants for showing that age does not matter when embracing a healthy lifestyle.
The efforts of the first, second and third place finishers in the international category earned them monetary prizes of US$1200, US$900 and US$700 respectively while all other participants were presented with a medal of acknowledgement.
