National Schools’ Track and Field Championships

Nov 19, 2008 Sports

Morgan smashes 10km road race recordBy Edison Jefford
Alika Morgan has certainly made winning a habit and yesterday the country’s leading female distance athlete was in a record–breaking mood as she smashed her 2006 10km road race record in her final year at the schools’ level.

Making her debut for East Bank Demerara after leaving former team East Georgetown, Morgan ran a comfortable 40:06.00 to erase the 40:47.00 she had set in 2006, which decimated Doretta Wilson in a successful title defence.

Rupununi’s Wilson clocked 46:15.00 for second place while East Coast Demerara’s Christine Mathews had 46:21.00 for third place. Morgan left the two athletes more than 1500m behind in her record–breaking feat in Linden.

Morgan told Kaieteur Sport that she was expecting keener competition. She said that while last year was a better race, in her estimation, this year was more comfortable, which allowed her to relax and implement her prepared techniques.

“I was prepared for the girl (Wilson) who was my rival last year. I ran with her before so I knew what I had to do. Last year there was more competition than this year,” Morgan said after literally running alone to set the new 10km mark.

Tyshon Bentinck

The top athlete said that she has the 800m, 1500m and 3000m remaining and will be looking for an outgoing female champion athlete award. “I am looking forward to champion girl,” she said in her usual shy and girlish intonation.

Upper Demerara had their moment of early glory when Tyshon Bentinck powered his way to the district’s first gold medal in the male version of the 10km road race with an impressive time of 36:02.00 in partially hazy conditions.

Corentyne’s Pierre Tello finished second in 36:36.00 with West Coast Berbice’s Quinn George in third with 37:21.00. Bentinck, Tello and George were in medal contention from the early stages of the conventional opening road race.

They had established an enormous lead at the 4km mark in the race where Rupununi’s Leonard Joseph joined them. But Joseph was dropped 1km later at the water stand and Bentinck began to make strides to string out his opponents.

With intermittent crowds urging him along the road, home boy Bentinck increased the mobility of his arms which allowed him to coast to a 10m lead over the bare footed Tello with three kilometres remaining in the race.

Tello drifted further and further into the background while performing a similar feat on George, who was obviously out of pole contention. The three athletes had established such a huge lead that the race was already decided before it ended.

“I looked forward to this victory. I expected it to be a lot tougher; persons I expected to show up like (Jonathan) Fagundes didn’t come,” Bentinck observed, adding that he was happy with the result since he trained on track for the race.

The budding talent said that he also ran and won the race at the champion of champion event on grass as opposed to the road surface. He also expressed an intention to pursue the male champion athlete award with three events remaining.