Long distance champ Cleveland Forde pleads with national federation to help him prepare for London 2012 Olympics
By Kiev Chesney
Few athletes that live and train in Guyana have the chance to compete at the international level with some of the world’s top athletes. One of the few, Cleveland Forde, has not only proven that he can excel among the world’s best but has continued to improve despite many limited circumstances.
National 1500m and 5000m record holder Cleveland Forde recently placed third at the University of the West Indies Sports and Physical Education Centre’s (UWI-SPEC) Half Marathon in St Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday. Forde clocked one hour, eight minutes and 55 seconds (1:08:55), and outsprinted reputable Kenyan athlete Stephen Tanui (1:08:59), who runs in the U.S.A.
Forde was the first Caribbean athlete to cross the line, and the two top places went to Kenyan born athletes George Towett and former champion Simon Sawe, respectively. While Forde was very pleased by his performance, his hope in qualifying for the 2012 Olympic Games seem to be fading as he has not received any assistance from the national track and field federation, the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG).
“I wish if the association could give me a chance to prepare at a high altitude area as I look to qualify for London 2012,” Forde stated.
Cleveland Forde
Forde is hoping to qualify in either the men’s 1500m or the 5000m, but realised that it is highly unlikely that he can do so in Guyana. The first hurdle in his way is that Forde must run the qualifying standard at an IAAF sanctioned competition, on a track with electronic timing systems and other formalities of an international meet.
He must therefore find an IAAF sanctioned competition and raise funds on his own to attend. But just attending will not be enough because, according to Forde, making the qualifying standard (3:35.50 or 3:38.00 in the 1500m and 13:20.00 or 13:27.00 in the 5000m) are no easy tasks. The former South American Games Under-23 champion was hoping that the AAG would facilitate him in his quest to represent Guyana with distinction.
“Preparation at high altitude would be a big plus for me. Good places I’m having in mind are New Mexico, Colombia and/ or Kenya. Then there will be some favourable track competitions around May June next year, some in Brazil and others in Europe,” said Forde, who was trained in Kenya complements of an Olympic Solidarity Scholarship made possible by the Guyana Olympic Association (GOA).
Forde was not fortunate enough to receive another such scholarship to prepare for London 2012 but is still determined to give it his best shot. He was awarded a wildcard spot to compete at the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, since Guyana had no athlete who achieved the qualifying standard.
But just a few months before the event, overseas-based sprinter Adam Harris qualified for the event and Forde had to watch Sports Max and ABC coverage of the event from the comfort (or discomfort as the case might have been) from his living room.
Nevertheless Forde continues to train hard with his goals in mind, and recently became employed by the Guyana Defence Force where he can train as an athlete and earn a salary. At least with a steady salary, he can try to help offset some of the many expenses that being a professional athlete entails.
Forde withdrew from the 16th Pan American Games and told GTIS that he did not feel that he was properly prepared to represent his country.
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