There was a feeling of deja vu yesterday as Cleveland Forde, Winston Missigher and Cleveland Thomas’ dream run continued in the second leg of the South American 10k Classic as they swept the podium a week after pulling off the same feat on the streets of Paramaribo, Suriname.
The three standout athletes placed in the exact order after putting on a clinic of team running against the visitors namely 2016 champion, Curtis Cox of Trinidad who failed to crack the top five.
The only notable difference the three Guyanese athletes experienced on the banner day of racing was a slower time the race was completed in at the National Park.
Forde, 33, completed the trek which ran off from Carifesta Avenue (in front of GTT), proceeded to the University of Guyana and returned to the National Park for the conclusion in an official time of 34m:07s. He ran 15 seconds faster in Suriname.
He pulled away late from the local duo Missigher and Thomas with a little less than 800m. Missigher was second in a time of 34m:09s while Thomas crossed the finish line nine seconds later. Jonathan Fagundes (34:51s) and Rekie Williams (35:08s), breakaway mates of the trio, finished fourth and fifth in that order.
Meanwhile, Grenada’s Kenisha Pascal pretty much ran the entire event in solo fashion. After the first km, she was by herself with the race in hand.
In the overcast conditions, Pascal clocked a brisk 42 minutes and 29 seconds to finish way ahead of Sheama Tyrell and Kezra Murray. Aaliya Moore and Tia Azore filled out the top five positions. Up to press time, the timings for the other females were still undisclosed by the AAG officials.
Forde and Pascal went home richer by US$1,000 apiece while the second-placed runners received US$600 and the third spot fetched US$400. For their efforts, Pascal and Forde also pocketed real gold medals.
The third and final leg of the Region’s most prolific annual 10k series will be staged on Sunday in Panama.
