Lion Man competition brings out Belize’s best
Good evening I’m James Adderly and you’re locked into this week’s version of Sports Monday. Beep Philips of Customs and Melvin Torres of Port came up with a fantastic idea to weave a triathlon on the September Celebrations programme and what an excitement the Lion Man event turned out to be.
We go to the start at the low berth area of the Deep Water Pier, where many fans have gathered to witness the swimming leg of this triathlon and as you can see, the field is deep as the contenders came in all sizes, colours, shapes and ages.
Adding more life to the fanfare is the call of the bugle, which gets the fans into an expectant mood. Here’s the start of the event as some 27 athletes dive into the water to begin the swim.
Wayne Lambey of Port turns out to be the first swimmer at the halfway mark. And in fact at the finish line its Lambey winning stage one with an impressive stroke. He goes to his bike, his assistant is prevented from helping him change and he’s the first to take off.
The good doctor Ramon Figueroa finishes 2nd in the swimming event but loses a lot of time changing into riding gear. So much so that the 3rd place swimming, Glen Jones of the BDF climbs out of the water heads to his bicycle and leaves before the doctor can.
Next came Linden Rojas of the BDF, Raymond Singh of Port, Beep Philips of Customs, then Suvien Rearden and Mike Diaz. Finishing ahead of many of the younger competitors is 73-year old Gilly Barrow, who remains an athlete even at this advanced age.
So we follow the race to mile 10 on the Western Highway and at the halfway mark its staff sergeant Glenn Jones of the BDF with a 2 minute lead over his nearest rival as he speeds towards the National Stadium. Linden Rojas also of the BDF, finds himself at second heading to town.
And this is rider Moncef Norris in 3rd place, but some officials have disqualified him from the event for not circling the drum in the swimming race. We’ll just take you back to that turn and here he is circling the drum as required, which makes his effort in this race legitimate. After viewing this tape he was reinstated. This pushes Wayne Lambey into 4th place.
The there is Singh, Dr. Figueroa, Beep Philips and Richard Rancheran and we’re all headed towards town. It’s Glen Jones, the first man inside the tracks on the second of the required three laps. Linden Rojas sets chase, but the lead is too big. And here is Sgt. Glenn Jones writing his name in the history books winning the first Lion Man Triathlon in 1 hour 20 minutes 18 seconds.
Linden Rojas pulls into 2nd place to give the BDF the two top spots. Wayne Lambey has to settle for 3rd place. Moncef Norris of Caribbean Tobacco, who had to fight the judges all the way, pulls up 4th here. Raymond Singh takes 5th place, he hails from the Port Authority. Belize Customs sent Beep Norris; he pulls up 6th, Dr. Ramon Figueroa 7th. Wilhelm Bailey’s effort gave him the 8th spot. Richard Rancheran pulls up 9th. The runner behind Rancheran is Victor Stephen of Aero Dispatch, who rounds out the top ten finish to the monster event, which must become an annual feature.
We don’t have a placement for Henry “Hippy” Flores, but we salute him for finishing this race. And if you want to know about 73-year old Gilly Barrow, well here he comes in on his bike and hits the tracks. This great old man finishes 21st in a time of 2 hours 11 minutes 58 seconds, and we say kudos. Of all the 27 that started only 21 finished. Good show guys, lets do it again next year.
In softball news, Belize swept the National Female Softball Team of Guatemala in a five game series over the weekend winning 10-0, 7-3, 8-1, 7-4 and 4-3. We say congratulations to our national team, who seem to be ready not only for Central America, but for the world.
In closing we want to congratulate Katz Place for knocking off Cayo in the finals of the National Guinness Eight Ball Pool Tournament. When you’re big, you’re large. That’s it for now.
