-Police nine points ahead after day one of Inter Services Athletic Championship
Twenty-seven-year old long distance champion Cleveland Forde managed to etch his name next to yet another record on day one of the Inter Services Athletics Championships (ISAC) held at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) ground Camp Ayangana yesterday.
Forde, who is the defending champion and record holder in the 1500m, overcame a three-pronged tactical attack from his adversaries in the Guyana Police Force (GPF), to win his second straight (ISAC) 1500m in record time. Forde lowered his record in the blink of an eye over the four minute mark, clocking 4:00.2 seconds.
Forde trailed for most of the race until he made his move with about 200m remaining and his GDF teammate Tyshon Bentick was able to follow and hold on to a close second place spot. Bentick posted 4:01.9s while a surging Kevin Bayley from GPF, who dipped on the line with Bentick, clocked 4:02.3s in placing third.
Former ISAC 1500m champion Dennis Horatio of the GPF placed fourth in 4:09s while his teammate Trevor Scotland placed fifth in 4:23.2s. Horatio carried the pace for just about the first 1000m, which was contrary to his usually race tactics. Horatio, Bayley and Scotland seemed to have engineered a plot to topple the renowned long distance champion Forde who is also the national 1500m and 5000m record holder. The GPF athletes later confirmed this strategy with Stabroek Sport.
Forde’s speed and deceptive change of pace were too much for his adversaries and, with the help of teammate Bentick, the Police plot was foiled with GDF copping the first two spots. Bentick followed Forde but Bayley engaged his sprinting facilities a second too late and found himself at the third level of the podium. Forde is expected to defend his title in the men’s 5000m today. The former South American Under-23 gold medallist had lapped all of the challengers at GDF’s Inter Unit Athletics Championships last month.
Janella Jonas came right back for the GPF and clocked 5:13s to win the women’s 1500m ahead of GDF’s rookie Carlissa Atkinson (5:15.2). Former ISAC 1500m champion Ashanti Scott did help her team seize the six points awarded for third place as consolation.
At the close of the events, GPF led by nine points after amassing 135 points to GDF’s 126. Way behind in third place stood the Guyana Fire Service with 24 points while the Guyana Prison Services are in the cellar with 14 points.
GDF had won the road race on the first day of competition, beating second place GPF by more than 100m. Forde, who passed up competing at the University of the West Indies Half Marathon to compete in the team relay, played a crucial pat in help GDF to their fourth consecutive win of that event. The winning GDF ream comprised Bentick, Forde, Adrian Corlette, Jemoul Chisholm and Carlissa Atkinson. Bentick, Corlette, and Chisholm ran 2000m each while Forde ran the longest leg, the 3000m and Atkinson finished up with the 1000m.
