D’Andrade, Johnson’s recent form a threat to Forde

Sep 18, 2008 Sports

– South American 10k to answer questions

Cleveland Forde

By Edison Jefford

Kelvin Johnson

With Cleveland Forde home, the wrestle for the title of Guyana’s leading distance athlete is expected to intensify when Lionel D’Andrade and Kelvin Johnson return from a successful tour of Trinidad and Tobago.

The Caribbean’s leading distance runner, Pamenos Ballantyne has repeatedly indicated to Kaieteur Sport that Forde is the only athlete capable of beating him in the region but his last two performances has proven different.

Both D’Andrade and Johnson have beaten Ballantyne in his last two outings in the Twin Island Republic, which could mean that Forde faces an uphill task of regaining his dominance on these shores.

Last weekend, Ballantyne was relegated to sixth place in the Venture 5km road run after Kenyans Nieodemos Naimadu in a time of 14.37 and Surge Jasoke in 14.420, took the first two places in the star–studded race.

Johnson finished third in 14.45 while D’Andrade ended fourth in 15.57. Trinidad’s Curtis Cox was fifth in 16.01. It was the second time in two weeks that both D’Andrade and Johnson had outran the renowned Ballantyne.

Speaking to Kaieteur Sport from Trinidad this week, Johnson said that he could have at least placed second in the race if he did not stop at the wrong line. He said that two lines near the finish line caused the mix up.

Lionel D’Andrade

“I stopped at a line about 10 metres before the finish line and an official told me that that was the wrong line. I had out–sprinted the Kenyans to that line but I had nothing left to beat them to the official finish line,” Johnson said.

A win over the distance savvy Kenyans would have threatened to boost Johnson’s morale ahead of the upcoming three–stage South American 10km run. Johnson had joined D’Andrade in Trinidad in August.

D’Andrade is on the island competing since May and believes that he can do better than his second place finish at last year’s South American 10km race. He told this newspaper that his sojourn in Trinidad is to prepare for that.

The first leg of the South American race usually takes place in Suriname with the second leg here in Guyana and the third in Panama. This year’s upcoming race will answer the question of who is Guyana’s leading distance runner.

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