Latest update September 18th, 2026 10:25 AM
Forde returns unceremoniously…Takes aim at regional dominance
By Edison Jefford
Cleveland Forde
Having enjoyed less than a ceremonial return to Guyana after his International Olympic Committee (IOC) scholarship expired, Cleveland Forde has forgotten about his wounds and now desires dominance in the Caribbean.
‘The Little Kenyan’, as he is also known, in the first exclusive interview since his return late July said that he plans to continue training, compete in the Caribbean and hopefully land another major scholarship.
“I am very determined to do what I can to make the world standards. Even if it’s not me, maybe someone else will be able to take up where I left off–that’s how we have to see it,” Forde told Kaieteur Sport yesterday.
The IOC had facilitated the distance athlete at the Kipchoge Keino High Performance Centre in Kenya on an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship, which the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA) acquired in 2004.
However, this writer had taken the talented Forde to task for his underperformance since he was awarded the scholarship. As such, he was asked to explain the reasons for his apparent inconsistencies since going to Kenya.
“Since the [South American] under–23 championships, I would experience cramps in my stomach. Last year it was more severe and I discovered that I had typhoid,” he informed, adding that he has somewhat recovered.
Forde left Guyana with a personal best time of 15:39.00 in the 5000m, which he reduced to 14:07.08 when he won the 5000m event at the 2006 South American Under–23 Championships.
After that decent performance, he had below par times of 15:19.48 at a meet in Brazil and 15:25.12 at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Japan, where he finished two laps behind the eventual first place winner.
“I went to the World Championships in a worse state than I thought. I was not fit at all but as an athlete, sometimes you think that you are and you end up embarrassing yourself,” the local distance athlete said.
Forde was given a wildcard entry into the recently concluded Olympic Games in Beijing, China, but that was subsequently reversed when United States–based sprinter, Adam Harris procure the ‘B’ standard in the 200m.
Asked about his relationship with the GOA, Forde said that he believes the local Olympic body did its part for him in Kenya. Nevertheless, he made it clear that his experiences in the African country were not easy.
“Being there was not easy. It was up to me to keep my part, which I did. I don’t know really but everyone’s assumption is that the GOA needed to do more. But they did their part and I am very thankful for that,” he pointed out.
“I am quite optimistic about another scholarship. Maybe to the United States this time; I am working on it and hoping that things would materialise,” he told this newspaper in response to his chances of getting another scholarship.
The Africans are more renowned in distance events than the Americans but Forde hinted at the availability of better facilities rather than the issue of altitude which is pertinent to distance athletes for the purpose of training.
Asked if he will ever be better off competing in the region, Forde said that he is thinking long term and have no regrets about going to Kenya. “It was training and development not competition,” he explained.
“I had no chance of showing what I can do this season because of those reasons for being in Kenya,” he added, while stating that training will continue in Guyana just as if he was in Kenya at the High Performance Centre.
In speaking with this newspaper in Trinidad in June, arguably one of the most successful regional distance athletes, Pamenos Ballantyne had opined that Forde is the only athlete that could threaten his reign in the region.
But Forde is not too keen on competing over the longer distances. He said that he wants to focus his energies more on the 1500m since he has discovered that the longer he runs, the more cramps build up around his abdomen.
The cramp problem could seriously affect Forde’s performance at two major upcoming events: the CARICOM 10K and the South American 10K. He is expected to compete at both events early and late next month.
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