Guyana’s long distance king Cleveland Forde yesterday proved that he is far from relinquishing his crown by winning the AINLIM 10k road race comfortably the race ending in front of the company’s head office.
With the course having a new starting point at Diamond, Forde always looked the likely winner against the competition and he clocked a time of 31.59s to take home the $75,000 prize.
Forde, running out of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) club, closest competition came from Police Sports Club (PSC) athlete Dennis Horatio who recorded a time of 33.02s.
Cleveland Thomas, out of the Running Brave Athletic (RBA) club fell of pace a little from the finish line to give up second spot as he recorded a time of 33.32s. He placed third.
Guyana Defence Force’s Tyshon Bentick was fourth in 35.37s while RBA’s Winston Messenger, who was looking for a top five finish did exactly that rounding out the top five finishers of the event with a time of 37.19s.
Local junior distance stud Nathaniel Giddings also showcased his ability to hang with the seniors as he recorded a time of 35.00s to win the junior category as he came fourth overall.
Devon Barrington and Ornesto Thomas were second and third respectively recording times of 35.29s and 38.51s respectively.
Meanwhile, local distance queen Alika Morgan who was unable to compete at the under-23 championships due to limited competitors turned in a top performance to win the female senior category.
Morgan, who ran 41.53s asserted her dominance early winning by a long shot with her closest competition being junior athlete Jevina Straker.
However, GDF’s Ashanti Scott was second with a time of 44.45s while Eva Henry took third in a time of 46.17s.
Straker, who finished behind Morgan, won the junior female category with a time of 43.19s leading PSC’s Adama Robert by some distance who took second clocking a time of 45.38s.
Sprint queen and bodybuilder Alisha Fortune won yet another 10k Master’s event clocking a time of 49.52s while Tyrleen Phillips was second in 55.39s.
The male master’s 40-55 age category saw Linden Harrison taking the win in 43.47s while L. Gardner won the men’s Masters over 50 segment of the 10k.
Shanomae Blackmore and Mark Scott received hampers for their officiating work while Philip Deckles was awarded a hamper for being the oldest athlete at age 76.
