media_artricles :: 2013

Towett does hat-trick in UWI half-marathon

Kenyan-born George Towett of USA, made it a hat-trick of titles yesterday morning, after winning the tenth UWI SPEC International Half-Marathon in St Augustine.

Towett, who won last year’s event in one hour, eight minutes and 25 seconds, improved his time by more than two minutes to come out on top in 1:06:22. The second and third place finishers also ran faster than Towett’s winning time last year. Richard Kessio of Kenya broke the tape in 1:07:16, followed by Cuban Norbert Gutierrez Curbec in 1:07:44 and Rupert Green of Jamaica in 1:10:25

Curtis Cox, 45, was the first local athlete to complete the course, rounding off the top five in 1:14:22, in what was a disappointing race for some of the top local male runners. T&T’s Richard Jones, who came second in 2012, did not finish in the top 10. Veteran runner Pamenos Ballantyne of St Vincent and the Grenadines also performed creditably, finishing eighth overall

Speaking to the media after his victory, Towett was satisfied with the outcome. “I think I did better today, because last year I did not run good, because the time was not good, but today I try to push and push and see if I can do it better this time.”

Towett also stated that he always enjoys the UWI half-marathon. “I like running this race, it is a very good course, well organised race, water everywhere.”

Among the ladies, it was a two-horse race between local defending champion Tonya Nero and Nigerian-born Mary Akor of USA. Akor eventually prevailed in 1:21:11, ahead of Nero (1:21:29), who ran three minutes slower than her winning time last year of 1:18:30. Karla Urbina Rojas of Venezuela came a distant third, while Janelle Nedd of T&T ended fourth

After her second place finish, the petite athlete reflected on what was a challenging season. “It hasn’t been as I wanted it to be, I started off with a little pain behind my knee and it felt like an injury, and it was keeping me back from my training.” Nero said her strategy was to stay close to Akor, because she knows they run similar times. Unfortunately, Akor was a little stronger on the day.

RESULTS

MALE
Name Country Time
George Towett USA 1:06:22
Richard Kessio Kenya 1:07:16
Norbert Gutierrez Curbec Cuba 1:07:44
Rupert Green Jamaica 1:10:25
Curtis Cox T&T 1:14:22
Kade Sobers T&T 1:18:11
Elvis Turner T&T 1:18:16
Pamenos Ballantyne SVG 1:18:24
Shirvan Baboolal T&T 1:18:30
Lyndon Bacchus T&T 1:18:40

FEMALE
Mary Akor USA 1:21:11
Tonya Nero T&T 1:21:29
Karla Urbina Rojas VEN 1:28:01
Jenelle Nedd T&T 1:28:08
Celine Lestrade T&T 1:35:07
Kerticha John T&T 1:39:22
Sara Ouellette T&T 1:39:49
Carlyle Jackson T&T 1:40:28
Christine Regis T&T 1:40:59
Paulette Lucess T&T 1:43:01

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