WINSTON Missigher clocked 34 minutes, 11 seconds to retain his COURTS 10K Road Race on Sunday.

Missigher was well off his winning time of 33:29 last year, but was well ahead of runner-up Nathaniel Giddings (34:54), his PPYC team mate. Odwin Tudor of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) completed the podium in (35:16).

Cleveland Thomas (35:32) of Running Brave, Rickie Williams (35:48) and Marlon Nicholson (36:40) filled out the top six rewarding positions in the ninth edition of the annual fixture.
The seven-time champion of the event, Cleveland Forde, who was upset by Missigher last year, did not compete yesterday.

Missigher who made a tactical and race winning move from the bunch outside the GDF compound, said in a post race interview with Stabroek Sport that quite a few of the competitors are faster and stronger than him physically. However his mental strength coupled with his hunger to win and work ethic enabled him to repeat.

He further disclosed that next up for him will be the Venture 5k in Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday and like anyone else, he will be gunning for the win.

The South American 10k series also starts soon and wins will be on his radar. But for now, the spoils and the praises belongs to Missigher, one of the most consistent athletes on the local scene.

Meanwhile, 18 year-old Sheama Tyrell (42:13), Abedemi Charles (42:16), Kissanna Glen (43:01), Aaliyah Moore (43:11), Ashanti Scott (46:00) and Leyanna Charles (46:22) were the top six finishers in the female open category.

The winners of the open male and female categories pocketed $100,000 each, while the immediate runners took home $80,000, $60,000, $40,000, $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.

A Golden mile for youths along with a 3K event for staff members was also staged yesterday as part of Court’s 26 year anniversary celebrations.