D’Andrade, Morgan win TELESUR 10k in record time

National long distance champion Alika Morgan and former national champion Lionel D’Andrade completed emphatic victories in record time in their debut in Suriname’s TELESUR 10km road race, last Sunday, May 1.

D’Andrade was the first of close to 200 starters to complete the course, and he established a new course record of 33 minutes, 50 seconds (33:50s). Morgan, who won the women’s category, finished 20th overall with a new female record of 41:01s.

Placing second overall was Surinamese teen Syveryo Simison, who clocked 34:02 to win the junior category; while Croles Maabo, who crossed the line in 36:08s, placed third. Suriname’s leading female distance athlete Ilsida Toemere finished 40 seconds behind Morgan for second place in the women’s category, while Jana Dickman clocked 48:01s for third place.

D’Andrade, who resides in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), told Guyana Times International Sport (GTIS) that he entered the race with a cautious race plan, since he had not felt 100 per cent physically fit for the event.

“I wasn’t really feeling well, so I decided to go out easy and make some surges every now and then,” D’Andrade said.

D’Andrade also said that Simison was able to keep up with him for the first seven kilometres of the race; but after he increased his pace for the final time, the Surinamese teen was unable to follow. Frequent participation in 5km races in T&T over the past few months was what D’Andrade thought responsible for his record-breaking performance.

Commenting on his overall time, D’Andrade said: “33[minutes] isn’t too bad, considering that I wasn’t well.”

D’Andrade will be returning to T&T soon to prepare for the Toyota 10km race, and he intends to reduce his 10km time by more than a minute by the end of this month.

Morgan, on the other hand, told GTIS that she is preparing to compete at the CARICOM 10km road race which will be held in St Kitts, Nevis in July. The 20-year-old former CARIFTA silver and bronze medallist said that she also had not expected to break the event’s record.

“Most of my preparations were for track events, since track season is not over as yet; so I was just going in the race to see where I am in my preparation,” Morgan said.

The former Sportswoman of the Year also said that the victory in record time serves as a major confidence booster, helping her to see the results of her rigorous training.