– scholarship ends next month; slim chance for renewal

Asks Kiev Chesney

Guyana’s 5000m record holder Cleveland Forde who is currently training at the Kipchoge Keino High Performance training camp in Kenya may soon be regaining his status as a locally-based athlete as his Olympic Solidarity-funded scholarship will end next month.

Forde, who had emerged as the most successful local long-distance runner in recent years, left here in December 2004 and, after being funded by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) for a year, Forde was awarded an Olympic Solidarity scholarship to continue his training in Kenya.

President of the GOA K.A. Juman Yassin told Stabroek Sport on Wednesday that Forde was due to return to Guyana in July which marks the end of his scholarship.

Juman Yassin also said that apart from his gold medal and record breaking (national) performance at the South American under-23 Championships, he had not showed much improvement.

The GOA president added that since he had not showed much progress, the chances of his Olympic Solidarity-funded scholarship being renewed were very slim.

The Keino training camp, owned by and named after a famous Kenyan long distance runner, has been approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as a high-altitude training facility.

According to its website, the camp guarantees progressive improvements for each of the local athletes as well as the hundreds of international athletes who train there each year.

Many top names have passed through the centre including the world 800m record holder Wilson Kipketer (Denmark), Bernard Lagat (USA), former Olympic 3000m champion Mathews Birir, former Commonwealth 800m champion Japheth Kimutai, the Chirchir brothers, Cornelius and William, former world 3000m steeplechase record holder and champion, Boit Kipketer, former world 10,000m champion, Sally Barsosio and former Olympic 1500m champion Peter Rono Forde, then 19, was recognized for his dominance on the local scene while being just a junior competitor, as well as some top showings at regional meets which included a personal best of 14:58.07s in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 2003.

He started on a productive note and less than 18 months after commencing training in Kenya, the ‘Little Kenyan’ ran a blistering 14:11.82s in Melbourne, Australia at the 18th Commonwealth Games, which landed him in 15th position.

Forde’s progressive improvement seemed on track as he returned eight months later to set the new mark for the national 5000m record when he won the South American under-23 Champ-ionships in Argentina in a time of 14:07.08s.

Just as he seemed to be reducing his time to world-class standards of 13 minutes or better yet, the 12-minute margin, the `Little Kenyan’ fell behind.

Last year at the 15th Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil he placed 11th among a field of 13 runners and turned in a time of 15:19.48. He also ran the 10000m and placed 10th (11 competitors).

The following month he got the opportunity to attend the 11th International Assoc-iation of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Champion-ships as an unqualified athlete, but was unable to make the final in the 5000m.

His time increased once more and he clocked 15:25.12s, placing 17th and finishing just about two minutes after the winner.

According to the AAG Forde has already been accredited for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, but he will have to run at least below 13:28.00 to get there.

Now 23, Forde would return home next month to contend with the likes of Lionel D’Andrade, Kelvin Johnson, and 19-year-old Denis Horatio, who is establishing a reputation as one of the local top road runners. Once he starts competing, fans will be in a better position to determine the direction the athlete’s career will take.