Ballantyne turns tables on Joseph
Pamenos Ballantyne has been finally able to upstage his nemesis St. Lucian Zephrinus Joseph in regional road race. A string of consecutive wins by Joseph saw Ballantyne having to trail him to the finish line, but at last Sundayâs Caricom 10K in Barbados, the tables turned.{{more}}
Ballantyne finished the course in 32 minutes 14.41 seconds, while Joseph completed in 32 minutes 28 seconds.
The head to head rivalry between the two has been brewing for some time. Joseph was crowned the inaugural winner of the Franco North Leeward 10K held here in October 2005.He retained the title one year later. On both occasions, Ballantyne had to play second fiddle. Joseph stopped Ballantyneâs reign at the OECS half marathon last October in Dominica.
Joseph also finished ahead of him in the UWISPEC half marathon held in Trinidad and Tobago last November.
Ballantyneâs win last Sunday completed a hat trick of wins for him. He won the first Caricom 10K event in St. Lucia in 2005 and retained the 2006 edition held in St.Kitts/Nevis.
A joyful Ballantyne told SEARCHLIGHT last Monday afternoon that he was happy to be back to his winning ways and free of injuries.
He credited chiropractor Dr. Edmund Sealey for his input into the journey to recovery.
âI am in top shape and I am feeling real goodâ, he said.
Ballantyne also claimed that his decision to train in Trinidad and Tobago has turned out to be a wise one.
âI was training in Trinidad since December because of the unavailability of the Arnos Vale Playing Fieldâ, Ballantyne said.
Recounting last Sundayâs race, âI knew before the race that he (Joseph) could not beat meâ, Ballantyne boasted.
Ballantyne said familiarity with the course helped in his triumph, as it was the same used in the annual Run Barbados Series. Ballantyne became US$1200 richer and Joseph stashed away $900.
Docking in third in the male section of the Barbados event was Trinidadian Denzil Ramirez and collected $700.
Guyanese Aleke Morgan topped the womenâs division in 39 minutes 57.28 seconds. She was followed by Trinidadian Sherwin Lesaldo, with her countrywoman Tony Nero third.
Ballantyneâs next major race is the Panam Games in Brazil when he will take part in the marathon event.
Comments
