September sports bring out fans of Cycling, Lionman Triathlon
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and you’ve just logged on to this show we call Sports Monday. The national Celebrations always bring with it a plethora of sporting events and this year is no exception. So we take you immediately to the new and improved Albert Street Circuit for the start of the Elite Open Race presented yesterday as a part of the BTB/San Cas Criterium of Cycling. In fact, both athletes and fans are mightily excited as this event returned to Albert Street after a rather long hiatus and the fact that fifty dollars is being paid for every lap won doubled the sense of urgency as the race blasts off featuring some thirty riders. Darnell Barrow of Santino’s performs impressively today in this outing, winning eight of the twenty-four laps and you can do the math. Panamanian, Christian McNish, riding for Benny’s Megabytes, is next in the total laps won with eight. However, by the twenty-third lap, the race had boiled down to a duel between Marlon Castillo and Geovanni Choto of Sugar City Stars with one lap to go. Okay it’s a two man sprint for the money and Marlon Castillo, who won three laps overall, wins the best one to take top honours in a time of one hour, twenty minutes, fifty-two seconds forcing Geovanni Choto into second place. In the sprint for third place, Gregory Lovell forces stable mate Darnell Barrow into fourth while Nissan Arana of Typhoon Cycling Team rounds out the top five.
At the junior level, Jevon Salazar of Indeco gave quite a display to take the eighteen miles ride in twenty-eight minutes, thirteen seconds on a massive solo flight and we say good show youth. Austin Armstrong of Vega Crystal won the sprint for second place while Edward Reyes of team Smart held on to take third. Now folks, it’s always a pleasure to see the old masters come out to play and twenty-five of the elder statesmen of this sport, including luminaries like, James “Cocky” Welch, John Newport, George Abraham, Ernest Thurton and Roque Matus are in it to win it. We’re at the finish line for the big sprint and former cross country champion, Collet “Bunas” Mahia demonstrates why he is champion grabbing the thirteen and a half mile criterium in twenty-eight minutes, thirteen seconds. Hanging on his wheel is fresh Fred Usher who takes second place, as Glen O’Brien pulls up third, Sherman Latchman gets fourth while Wilbert Jones finished fifth.
Also presented yesterday was the tenth annual Lionman Triathlon, which was staged at Sanlighters Promenade. This is the actual start of the event as all comers begin to swim inside the tranquil waters of the Caribbean Sea. And not unexpectedly, the Guatemalan visitors finish one, two, three in the swimming event. By the time former champion Kenroy Gladden comes out of the water, he is some twelve minutes off the pace. If Gladden expected to make up time on the bike, well the visitors extended their dominance in this event and are now getting ready for the final stage, which is the run. And here is Francisco Lima of Guatemala winning the prestigious Lionman title in an overall time of two hours, nine minutes, twenty-eight seconds. His paisan Angel Saballos pulls up some two minutes later to claim second and another athlete from the neighbouring country, Mynor Ramirez, lays claim to third place. If you’re looking for a Belizean, here’s Kenroy Gladden pulling up fifth some ten minutes later and for this he gets the George Lewis Trophy.
Kenroy Gladden, Fifth Place Male, Lionman Triathlon 2009
“First of all I have to give thanks to di father fi whatever I finish cause without he I neva mi wah finish none at all. Well I surely noh happy because I know bout bicycle and bicycle timing and di timing weh dehn ride ten miles inna, gone to di junction and come back, I know dehn could neva do dah time deh because if dehn have me out by twelve minutes, fifteen minutes head ah me out ah di wata dehn could neva do almost ten miles inna fifteen minutes so I know something definitely have to wrong inna dah section deh. You can’t shortcut di circular and still think dat you are in di race. From di time you shortcut di circular you automatically disqualified cause I know if it was me I would have surely been disqualified. I know I could win yoh know but I just need lee bit more sponsoring from di committee cause mountain bike, ih harder fi push pan wah mountain bike dan wah road bike but lot ah people willing fi lend me dehn road bike when I done deh close to di race like wah week or coupe days before di race. I would ah need wah road bike at least two months or wah three months prior before di race and secondly, we need fi got more events so yoh could open up your heart. If your heart stay low yoh noh wah win so easy.”
This bring up the question people, is the Lionman Triathlon ready fro international competition or should we spend our meagre resources developing our local athletes in this particular discipline? Anyway, Shalini Zabaneh brought some consolation to Belize by grabbing the female open event in two hours, forty-six minutes, thirty-five seconds, beating out visitors Susan McFarlane by some seventeen minutes while Cassidy Jackson-Caroll, another foreigner, finished third.
Shalini Zabaneh, First Place Female, Lionman Triathlon 2009
“It feels good. I didn’t train enough but I came out on top today. I was nervous and just anxious, just completely out of it until I got out here and settled down and got into my rhythm and it just flowed. Thank God no flat, thank God for strength and courage, determination and support.”
Meanwhile, winning the corporate relay this year is Team Police featuring Jane Usher, Elbert Pope and Efrain Nasson, BATSUB with Kelly Arland, Ben Charlton and Matt Goddard took second, while team McLoving featuring Simon Reardon-Smith, Sandra Cansino and Dinesh Bojwhani finished in third place.
In football news, results from week three in the B.P.F.L. saw Wagiya dump San Pedro Dolphins 2-1, Hankook Verdes and the Belize Defence Force battled to a scoreless draw and Nizhee Corozal blanked F.C. Belize 2-zip. Week four in the B.P.F.L. finds F.C. Belize facing the Belize Defence Force at the M.C.C. Grounds on Saturday while on Sunday Hankook Verdes will host San Pedro and Nizhee Corozal travels to Wagiya.
Turning to the Belize Bank Super League, week six results show four 2-nil wins in this particular competition. Texmar United Handled San Felipe Barcelona, Santa Elena Synergy hurt Hattieville F.C., Placencia Assassin crushed Kraal Road and Paradise Freedom Fighters defeated Cayo South United; all 2-zip scores. And if that isn’t a rake for Boledo I don’t know. Looking to week seven on Saturday nineteenth September, Kraal Road travels to San Pedro while on Sunday Hattieville will host San Felipe, Santa Elena gets a visit from Texmar, the Freedom Fighters travel to Placencia and Valley Renaissance will be hosted by Cayo South.
Hey folks, that’s our show for today. Before we go though, I want to give a shout out to my family in two; Elvira my sister and my brother Edgar and James Carlos and their family. I hope you’re having a good time. Meanwhile, we invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
