'Little Kenyan' among front runners
Stabroek News
January 16, 2004
Rising Stars' athlete Cleve-land Forde is among the front runners for the 2003 National Sports Commission's (NSC) national sports awards. National sports associations have up to 3.30 pm today to submit their nominees.
According to records, Forde won five junior regional races over varying distances and one at the senior level. On the local scene, Forde won five open races and one junior event.
At the regional level, Forde first captured the Trinidad Clico 5K (Open) in a time of 15 minutes 43 seconds (15.43) on January 26 last year, then went back to finish first in the Trinidad National Schools 5K in 15.49 on February 8.
On April 21, the `Little Kenyan' as he is referred to, captured a gold medal in the 5000m of the Junior Carifta Games held in Trinidad. He returned 15.27 for the distance. Two days earlier Forde returned 4:04.24 placing fourth in the 1500m event at the same championships.
Forde subsequently went to St Lucia where he was first among the juniors in the Cara Suites 10K and placed third overall in a time of 31.40.
In the first leg of the South American 10K Classic held here in Guyana on October 19, Forde was the first junior to cross the finish line and the fourth athlete overall. He occupied the same positions in the second leg of the Classic which was staged in Suri-name. He returned an overall time of 31.12 in Guyana and 34.25 in Suriname.
In his final overseas outing on December 7, Forde won the junior version of the Run Barbados 10K and placed fourth overall.
Forde also placed fourth in both the 5000m and 10,000m events of the South American Junior in Ecuador. He clocked 32.06 for the 10,000m.
On the local scene, Forde won the 1500m event of the Inter-Zone Championships in 4.18.
When he participated in the Linden Sports Foundation's meet, he crossed the finish line first in the 5000m event in a time of 16.4. He clocked a much better time over the same distance at the Amateur Athletic Association of Guyana's (AAA) Champion-ships, winning the event.
He also registered 33.22 to win the YMCA's Open 10K and 21 days later returned 4:27.09 to win the AAA's Golden Mile.
He closed off the 2003 season by capturing top honours in the Desmond Hoyte Memorial 10K.