media_artricles :: 2015

Cuban defies rain to win UWI-SPEC Half-Marathon

IT WAS cold and it rained from start to finish, but the elements could not deter Cuba’s Richer Perez as he stamped his class on the 12th edition of the UWI-SPEC Half-Marathon. Perez outpaced his rivals over the 13.1 mile run from St Augustine to D’Abadie and back yesterday, and to the cheers of hundreds of fans who braved the weather to witness it, he claimed victory outside the UWI-SPEC compound on the University Circular Road in his first ever run on TT soil.

The men’s title had been guaranteed to change hands long before the finish, as defending champion, Brazilian Daniel Chavez Da Silva was forced to retire in the early going, reportedly having suffered stomach cramps.

Running for the first time ever in TT , Perez beat Kenyan Kenneth Rotich to the finish line by six seconds, as foreign athletes once again dominated the race, with Tonya Nero and Celine Lestrade being the only TT nationals to finish in the top five in either the men’s or women’s open divisions.

Despite the closeness of the top two, no record times were established; Perez breasted the tape in one hour, eight minutes flat, nowhere near the 1.06:22 set by George Towett in 2013. Indeed, Towett, who has won the UWISP EC Half-Marathon four times, did not compete this time around.

Speaking afterward through an interpreter, Perez said that his greatest challenge on the day was the weather. “It was a bit difficult,” he told Newsday. “The rain slowed the race. I was still fresh (at the end), but the pace was too slow.” The 29-year-old Pan Am marathon champion added that his best half-marathon clocking was 1.04:46.

Rotich, who followed Perez across the line in 1.08:06, agreed that the race “was very slow because of the rain.” The 24-year-old Rotich explained that in the face of so many unfamiliar rivals, his tactics were quite simple.

“I tried to stay with them. But he (Perez) left me in the last 50 metres.” Jamaica’s Kirk Brown claimed third place in 1.09:12, improving on his time last year by almost two minutes. Mexico’s Pedro Espinoza Perez was fourth in 1.09:57, while the other Jamaican, Rupert Green (1.10:49) was more than a minute slower than his 2014 clocking and dropped from fourth to fifth as a result.

Sixth was Kelvin Johnson, a naturalised Guyanese, while the veteran Curtis Cox claimed 9th place in 1.15:53- a fantastic performance for a 47-year-old. Cox was the lone TT -born athlete to finish among the top ten.

Kenya’s Caroline Kiptoo retained the open women’s title, finishing 15th overall in one hour, 17.54 seconds; exactly one minute later, TT ’s Tonya Nero claimed second place.

Cuba’s Yailen Garcia was almost six minutes behind her, followed another six minutes later by Celine Lestrade; Arimian April Francis made up the women’s top five. Kiptoo was pleased with the conditions, saying the rain did not affect her race: “It was not too hot, not too humid.” The tall Kenyan said she knew she was in control from as early as the tenmile mark.

Nero also had no complaints.

“I liked it (the conditions),” she said. “My asthma started acting up in the last couple of miles, but I prefer the rain.” The dimunitive Trinidadian added that she had expected to run a faster time than last year, but she was surprised at how quick she actually was (1.18:54).

The first athlete in a wheelchair to finish was Rickie Singh; his time was 1.21:28.

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