Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 19, 2011 Sports
– powers to Courts 10k road win
By Edison Jefford
Some engineers say Forde engines are the best, while others believe that they are just as good as other engines. Well, yesterday, Cleveland Forde proved that he is the best with his well-oiled and clinical performance in the Courts 10km Road Race in Georgetown.
Forde left absolutely nothing to chance with an emphatic win in 32:09 minutes, leaving his closest rival, Dennis Horatio more than 600m behind. Horatio finished second in 33:34, flipping the script on Nathaniel ‘Brother’ Giddings, who was third in 33:56.
Cleveland Thomas finished fourth in 34:16 while Trinidad and Tobago-based Lionel D’Andrade finished fifth in 34:59 in the Senior Male category of the race. The top five male athletes led the race with Giddings pacing for the first two kilometres.
Forde took control of the pace in the pack around the 3km mark in a move that suggested that he was not going to allow ‘Brother’ to dictate the pace, which is what happened three weeks ago at the Ainlim 10k where 12 seconds had separated Forde and Giddings.
D’Andrade dropping off the lead pack around the fourth kilometre mark and halfway through the race it was Thomas who fell behind as Forde shifted gears. Forde upped his tempo and powered ahead for a 10m lead on Horatio and Giddings on the return.
There was not going to be any miscalculations and misjudgement of pace yesterday morning for the dominant Forde. He wanted to establish that his engine is the best and he did so with support from well-wishers, who flocked the course to cheer on the athlete.
In the end, Forde sent a strong message to ‘Brother’, who had stepped out the junior category to compete among ‘the big boys’ yesterday. Horatio got his much-anticipated revenge, but Thomas and D’Andrade still have to deal with shadow of the ‘barefoot’ athlete.
“It was a good race. I came out here expecting the race to go a bit faster and it was. I did not try to do too much because I still have a lot of events coming up; I had to save something for other big events,” Forde said when he was asked to comment on the race.
In a surprising twist of fortune, United States of America-based Guyanese long distance runner, Euleen Josiah-Tanner, upstaged Alika Morgan after arriving in Guyana late Saturday night. The 2011 CARICOM 10k winner won the Courts event in 38:43 minutes.
Morgan finished second in 42:23, while Ashanti Scott was third in 43:21. Jevina Straker came in fourth in the Open Female race with 45:47, while Eva Harry (47:00) was fifth. Josiah-Tanner got an early lead among the women and never looked threatened.
Kevin Bayley won the Junior Boys race in 35:03 minutes with Grivon Grant (35:11) second and Chavez Sital (35:12) third. Shanice Hatton was first among the Junior Girls in 44:24 with Adana Roberts (44:56) and Alexis Williams (48:15) second and third.
Suriname’s, Gullerno Udernhout (37:15) was first among the male masters while Llewellyn Gardner took second place in 40:40 and Rudolph Taylor third in 42:19. Alisha Fortune (47:47) was the first female master with Curleen Phillips (55:17) second and Lorrieann Adams (58:06) third.
Speaking at the Presentation Ceremony, Courts’ Country Manager, Clyde DeHass committed to the race next year, urging the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) to help them make it much bigger and better in the next edition.
President of the AAG, Colin Boyce accepted the challenge and thanked all athletes and clubs for supporting the race that returned after a 12-year hiatus. Boyce said that he will continue to work to ensure that the Courts 10km Road Race grows every year.
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