(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) St Vincent and the Grenadines’ Pamenos Ballentyne and Guyana’s Alika Morgan have again emerged champions of the Annual Caribbean Community (CARICOM) 10K Road Race held on Sunday (29 June 2008) in Antigua and Barbuda.
Ballentyne, who was making his fourth consecutive win, finished the race in a time of 31.41secs beating Trinidad and Tobago’s Richard Jones into second place, while Morgan who was wining the Race for the third time finished ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Christine Regis with a time of 39:07 secs.
Young Jewel Lewis and Tenijah Morris both of Antigua and Barbuda won the Junior and Youth categories respectively.
Meanwhile, Curtis Cox and Tonya Nero – Trinidad and Tobago – finished third in their respective categories (male and female). Guyana’s Kelvin Johnson and Antigua and Barbuda’s Jewel Lewis earned fourth place in their respective categories; Saint Lucia’s Jason Sayers and Grenada’s Kenisha Pascal took the fifth places while Antigua and Barbuda’s Elliot Mason and Viane Joseph took the sixth places in their respective categories.
The fourth staging of the event under the theme “Run for life. Exercise your right” assumed heightened significance as it sought to promote physical activity in light of the September 15 Port-of-Spain Declaration in which CARICOM Member States committed to supporting actions and initiatives aimed at addressing the alarming prevalence of Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in the Region.
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the Meet, the Hon Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda welcomed the ten Member States who were participating, and expressed his pleasure that his country was hosting the Race. He added that not only is Sport the great unifier of the Caribbean but it served to promote discipline and physical activity, which he said was so critical to maintaining healthy lifestyles which ultimately translated into a healthy nation and a healthy Region.
He recalled the Port-of-Spain Declaration, and emphasized the importance of Member States remaining committed to the fifteen-point actions in an effort to stem the epidemic of NCDs which he stated had become both a social and economic burden on the Region.
Mr John Campbell, CARICOM Secretariat’s Deputy Programme Manager, Sport Development thanked the Prime Minister for hosting the Race and explained that “this year, the Race is being used as a platform to raise further awareness of the need for all citizens of the Community to engage in physical activity on a regular basis as a pathway to the promotion of Healthy Lifestyles.”
In his Remarks, Dr Philmore Benjamin, President of the Antigua and Barbuda Athletic Association (ABAA) commended the vision of the CARICOM Secretariat to use Sport as a vehicle to promote unity within the Caribbean Region.
He pointed to the long term benefits to be derived from the promotion of physical activity and healthy lifestyles, citing the reduction of risk factors such as obesity as one such benefit in the Region’s fight against Non-Communicable Diseases.
The annual 10K Run, which was sponsored by ABI Financial Group, Anjo Wholesale, Scotia Bank, Digicel, Hadeed Motors, and Sagicor, formed part of the activities to mark the Thirty-fifth Anniversary of the Signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, and was staged at the Antigua Recreation Ground just prior to the start of the Twenty-ninth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community set to open on Tuesday 1 July, where the winners of the 10K will be presented to the Community.
Over sixty runners, representing ten Countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago – participated in the Fourth Annual CARICOM 10K Road Race.
