By Marlon Munroe
The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) launched the Guyana leg of the 7th South American 10k Road Classic at Olympic House on High Street, Kingston yesterday.
Media operatives were told at a press briefing that the first leg of the event will be run off on October 25 from outside the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) building on Camp Street and conclude at the same venue. However the course of the race is still to be mapped out.
The second stage will be hosted by Suriname and Panama is responsible for the third leg.
Executive member of the AAG Shirley Hooper reported yesterday that the deadline for international athletes was last night while for local athletes it will be October 23.
She noted, however, that the registration deadlines are not written in stone, especially since two of the other countries that are expected to participate have not answered the AAG’s request despite constant communication.
She said that up to the time of the press briefing only Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) had responded but she expects that by last night Brazil and Grenada would have responded positively.
Suriname will be fielding three athletes and one official while T&T will have five athletes and an official.
She also explained that Guyana will not be fielding a national team but several local athletes are expected to participate in this event.
Thus far 10 athletes have registered for Guyana, including two for the Masters category.
Locals are expected to pay $500 to register and foreigners $1000.
In the International Open category for men and women the winner will pocket US$1000 and the runner-up will get US$600. Third, fourth and fifth places will receive US$400, US$300 and US$200 respectively.
In the junior category which will be run in two divisions (16-17 and 18-20) the cash prizes for the top three finishers will be US$100, US$50 and US$25 and in the Masters (50 and older) category the winner is guaranteed US$100 while second and third finishers will win US$60 and US$40.
Hooper also noted that the AAG has contacted the other important stakeholders to ensure that the event is smoothly run.
She also said that the AAG will be pulling out all the stops to ensure the event is properly organized and the athletes, foreign and local alike, are comfortable.
Meanwhile, Second Vice President of the AAG Cordell Rose stated that the competition will be of a high standard, especially since many of the foreign athletes will be looking towards defending champion Cleveland Forde of Guyana. On the other hand, Brazil’s Antonia Silva will be seeking to stretch the rest of the field out when she defends her title against her counterparts.
