Winston Missigher crossed the finish line first for the second year in a row at the Courts and Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) 10K Road Race on Sunday morning, being extremely proud of his achievement, given the circumstances he had to battle to get to this point.
The winners’ row after Sunday morning’s race
After competing in the race for almost a decade, Missigher bagged his first Courts 10K win in 2018, and disclosed to media operatives following his second win on Sunday morning that it is something with which he hopes to be consistent.
“The run for me was really good. As you know, I’ve been working to win this title since 2012, and last year was the first time I won the title; and I also broke the record in 2018.
“So I came here with the intention to retain my title, because I didn’t want it to go so fast, cause I work really hard to get it last year,” Missigher explained.
Prior to Sunday’s race, the distance athlete had struggled with an injury, and feared he would be able to compete until 2020. However, with dedication and support from his family system and coach, he was able to hit the road on Sunday.
“First of all, I want to thank my coach, who worked with me through rain, dew and sun; and I want to dedicate this race to my son,” he said.
Probed about his ‘race plan,’ Missigher disclosed that he had considered the abilities of his opponents and had carefully set landmarks for himself, in order to run away with the top prize for the second consecutive year.
“My plan was to go from the last 800 metres, cause all the guys in the race are stronger than me mentally and they’re quicker, but they’re not stronger than me physically; and that was my big thing today.
“But I didn’t want to gamble with my race, that’s why I decided to move since at Ayanganna,” he explained.
Missigher crossed the finish line first in 34 minutes and 11 seconds, but was followed by Nathaniel Giddings, who clocked 34 minutes 54 seconds, and Odwin Tudor, who completed the podium with a time of 35:16.
Cleveland Thomas (35:32) of Running Brave, Rickie Williams (35:48) and Marlon Nicholson (36:40) filled out the top six rewarding positions in the ninth edition of this annual fixture.
Meanwhile, 18-year-old Sheama Tyrell (42:13), Abedemi Charles (42:16), Kissanna Glen (43:01), Aaliyah Moore (43:11), Ashanti Scott (46:00) and Leyanna Charles (46:22) were the top six finishers in the Female Open category.
The winners of the Open Male and Female categories pocketed $100,000 each, while runners in descending positions took home $80,000, $60,000, $40,000, $20,000 and $10,000 respectively.
