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Guyanese aim to sweep CARICOM 10k
Morgan, Forde lead local challenge
By Edison Jefford
Alika Morgan
Alika Morgan and Cleveland Forde will have to put in special efforts today, when the gun is fired to start the Fifth CARICOM 10k Road Race, if Guyana is to record an historic sweep of the male and female titles in the calendar event.
The Caribbean Community Secretariat and the Government of Guyana will be staging the annual 10k race under the theme ‘Health, Unity and Prosperity’, which is in keeping with the Community’s promotion of healthy lifestyles.
The race is scheduled to begin at 7:00am with an opening ceremony that Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, along with CARICOM officials, will address participants at the CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen.
Morgan and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines’, Pamenos Ballantyne dominated the four previous occasions of the race, but that could change today since the return of Forde from Kip Keino High Performance Centre in Kenya.
“I am prepared and I know its going to be way more interesting than the previous races, I just hope that people will come out to give us the support,” Forde briefly told Kaieteur Sport when contacted for a comment yesterday.
Forde has an outstanding record against Ballantyne since returning to the Caribbean last July. ‘The Little Kenyan’, as he is known, made a major impression against Ballantyne in winning the South American 10k Classic last year.
Since then, Forde has gone on to record more than five wins ahead of Ballantyne, with the most recent coming in the ‘De Heart Uh Barbados 10k Road Run’ last weekend. Today’s race is definitely poised for an intense showdown.
Ballantyne has made it clear that he does not see Forde as a threat. He told Kaieteur Sport in an interview two weeks ago that he has the experience and he was hoping that the race would serve as a precursor to the Caribbean Games.
“Cleveland is my friend and I want to give him a lot of credit. He is young but despite the CARICOM race being held in Guyana this year, I don’t think he will be a threat. I have a lot of experience,” Ballantyne had indicated.
But now that the Caribbean Games has been cancelled, there would be much more weight attached to winning the CARICOM race. Trinidad and Tobago’s, Richard Jones could be one of the ex-factors in the race with his technique.
Jones is one of the most collective and composed distance runners in the Caribbean and is a consistent performer among the leading athletes. Jones, Forde and Ballantyne are sparks that could set the race course on fire today.
Guyana’s general odds in the male version of the race would have been much improved if Lionel D’Andrade and Kelvin Johnson were competing, but the duo has opted to stay in Trinidad for a series of races this weekend.
D’Andrade and Johnson had the impression that only Forde and Morgan were officially a part of the Guyana team, but later it was revealed that four other places were available to the host, by which time it was too late for them.
President of the Athletics Association of Guyana, Colin Boyce had indicated that the duo were automatic choices following the development. The association has, nevertheless, filled the blanks with four promising locals.
Carifta Games gold medallist, Javina Straker, Jonathan Fagundes, Cleveland Thomas and Ashanti Scott were included to assist in the host’s challenge. Athletes from all the other CARICOM countries are to face these competitors.
While little is known about Morgan’s challengers, the current National Sports Woman of the Year cannot take anything for granted especially since she is not 100 percent fit after recovering from a recent recurring ankle injury.
Morgan was slated to run up to press time yesterday although her coach, Leslie Black had reservations about some technical aspects of the race.
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