Thomas misses podium in 1500m at Southern Games

Middle distance athlete Cleveland Thomas placed fourth in the men’s Open 1500m of the Southern Games at Guaracara Park, Pointe-a-Pierre, Trinidad yesterday.

Thomas, one of the top local middle-distance athletes and a member of the Running Braves Athletics Club, ran against a field of 19 athletes that included seven Trinidadians and two Kenyans.

Cleveland Thomas
Cleveland Thomas

He registered a time of 4:06.71 seconds which was slower than the time he recorded last year which was 4:06.06 seconds.

The race was won in 4:01.27 seconds by Silas Kisorio of Kenya. Canada’s Thomas Coughier was second in 4:01.70 seconds with United States of America’s Robert Novak finishing third in 4:05.17 seconds.

Thomas will be looking to better his performance today in the men’s 800m and will be aiming to medal after missing the podium last year in the event. Last year he clocked 1:55.27 seconds for fourth place.

Another Guyanese athlete Cleveland Forde, of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) will compete in the men’s 5000m.

Meanwhile, the Games Coordinator Claude Blackmore informed Stabroek Sport that Stephan James will be joining his club mate Thomas during the week to participate at the upcoming Falcon Games set for March 22-24 at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain.