Guyanese national 5,000m and 1,500m record holder Cleveland Forde defeated Richard Jones to win the 23rd Granny Luces 15-kilometre race, which ended at the La Joya in Joseph last weekend, according to the Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) Guardian.
Jones, who has reportedly won the event four times, was no match for the former national long distance champion Forde, who did not compete at the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) National Senior Championships last weekend in Guyana. Forde clocked 47 minutes 43 seconds, while Jones finished three seconds behind (47:46).
According to the Guardian, Forde and Jones separated themselves from the main pack, before the former South American U-23 champion Forde made his move just after the Curepe Junction, sprinting to the finish line. Curtis Cox placed third, clocking just over 50 minutes.
The victory, according to the Guardian, was Forde’s second at the event. The first time Forde won the event was in 2009, when he had incidentally outsprinted Jones in the last 75 metres of the race. Jones was also defending champion that year.
Forde reportedly won TT$6000 (US$937.97) for first place, while Jones took TT$4000 for second place. While Forde was winning in (T&T), Cleveland Thomas won the National 1,500m title, while Dennis Horatio won the men’s 5,000m and Wayne Harlequin took the 800m title at the Police Sports Club Ground.
The other Guyanese campaigner making the podium in last weekend’s event in T&T was Lionel D’Andrade, who placed third in the 5km version of the event. D’Andrade was beaten by Matthew Hagley, who placed second, and Denzil Ramirez. Ramirez had competed at the South American 10k Classic in Guyana last year and placed second to Forde.
T&T’s national cross country champion Celine Lestrade took the women’s title of the 15km national cross country champion, according to the Guardian. Lestrade finished second last year. The women’s 5k was won by Kertisha John.
