– Missigher, Thomas round off top-three

CLEVELAND Forde continued his stranglehold on the South American 10K Road Race and proved that he just might be the best Guyana has ever seen in the distance, when he ran a tactical race to clinch the second leg in dramatic fashion, crossing the line ahead of local rivals, Winston Missigher and Cleveland Thomas, yesterday.

Forde, who never took the lead until the 8K mark on the JB Lachmansingh Road, clocked 34 minutes, seven seconds (34:07), ahead of Missigher (34:09) and Thomas (34:18). Ironically, it was the exact finish for the first leg, which was held in Suriname last weekend (October 28).

Johnathan Fagundes (34:51) and 19-year-old Rickie Williams (35:08) rounded off the top five for the male category, while in the females, Grenada’s Kenesha Pascal finished ahead of Guyana’s Sheoma Tyrell and Kezra Murray in the race which will now head to Peru for the third final leg.

The athletes were sent on their way by Roberto Gesto de Melo, President of CONSUDATLE, South American governing body for track and field, and from then, Forde tailed everyone who would’ve led the race.

Trinidadian Curtis Cox carried the race for the most part, but by the time the first bunch made the U-turn at the University Of Guyana road, he began to fade, and it was Fagundes who started to carry the pace.

As they headed back on the opposite side of the Rupert Craig Highway just before Conversation Tree, Williams, followed by Missigher, Thomas and Forde, started to make their move.

The group stayed together until they reached Kitty Public Road, where Missigher took the lead, while Thomas and Forde stayed closely behind.

As they turned on the JB Lachmansingh Road to head into Thomas Lands, Forde, who was showing signs of fatigue earlier in the race, turned up the pressure, indicating that it was time get down to business.

As they entered the National Park and neared the finish line, the crowd didn’t seemed surprise to see Forde powering home, while Missigher and Thomas gave chase.

President of the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) said that he was happy with the event this year, and applauded the athletes for helping to make the second leg of the South American 10K a success.