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D’Andrade lapse cost him cross–country title
– did not know he needed AAG sanctionAn unfortunate oversight on part of distance athlete Lionel D’Andrade is likely to cost him the coveted 4km cross–country overall championship title in Trinidad and Tobago ahead of his final race on Sunday.
Lionel D
D’Andrade, a well respected athlete on the island, did not know that he needed approval from the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) to participate in the triple–series cross– country event that closes out the season.
“After the first race last Sunday, I could not collect the prize money because they told me that I had to get sanctioned from the AAG and I was disqualified,” D’Andrade told Kaieteur Sport from Trinidad yesterday.
The Running Braves Athletics Club campaigner had devastated his opponents in the Lady Chancellor Lill Run last weekend, leaving rivals Curtis Cox and Errol Williams to battle for second and third places respectively.
It was after that race that he was the recipient of the sad news that he was not eligible for the prize money. He succeeded that performance on Sunday with another win in Tobago ahead of Elvis Turner and Jules La Rode.
Of the three races so far, D’Andrade has won two and a likely prediction could be made for him to win the third this Sunday after building confidence from the previous two occasions in the Twin Island Republic.
The technical blunder is indicative of the athlete’s known immaturity but he was secured in reducing the error to ignorance. “I did not know that I had to get sanctioning from the AAG to participate at the event,” he said.
Maybe this was D’Andrade’s year to dominate in Trinidad and whether he will have such a season next year is to be seen. He missed an excellent opportunity to ‘grab the bull by the horn’ with the cross country title.
It is normal procedure for an athlete to seek the blessing of the AAG when campaigning overseas. The association have denied requests in the past but to not ask at all represents an oversight of immense proportions. (Edison Jefford)
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