The Belize City Marathon Sees Huge Turnout
Goodnight and welcome to another edition of Sports Monday, I am Paul Lopez. “Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you do repeatedly”. That’s a quote from Basketball Player, Shaquille O’Neal. At sunrise on Sunday, one hundred and one runners lined up at the starting mark, in front of the Marion Jones Sporting Complex, for the Belize City five kilometers, ten kilometers and twenty-one kilometers marathons, respectively.
The starting horn is blown and the runners for the twenty-one-kilometer dash are off. Now, here are the sprinters for the ten-kilometer run. After nineteen minutes and fifty-two seconds, here comes Keemar Wagner for first place in the five- kilometer race. He is followed by a winded Daniel Cruz, with twenty-minutes and eight seconds on the clock. Forty minutes and fifty seconds after the start of the ten kilometer marathon, Devendra Sunuwar takes the first place medal. Kliuvert Cal reached the finish line in forty-two minutes and fifteen seconds, to take second place in the ten-kilometer marathon.
Four minutes behind him was Fred Usher Junior, who secured third place. And now for a dramatic finish in the twenty-one kilometer marathon, it’s Albert Davis and Leon O’Brien toe-to-toe in a sprint to the finish line. Who will it be? Is it Davis or is it O’Brien? It is Albert Davis who used up every bit of energy and collapsed at the finish line. Emergency Medical Technician, Javier Canul sprang into action to assist Davis. His time was one hour, fourteen minutes and four seconds. O’Brien finished in one hour, fourteen minutes and five seconds. That is a one second difference.
Albert Davis
Albert Davis, Winner, Half Marathon
“I really neva deh weh part I mih suppose to deh today. I never put in the training I wanted you know. But, on the last ending it is only my mind that made me win this race. I win this race using the strategy. I stick to my race plan and I said if I had to hold O’Brien to the finish and go down to the sprint and that is exactly what I do. When I come to the finish I run outta breath, so to recoup I had to just give a pause to my body and that is what really gawn on pan the ending.”
Kaya Cattouse
Kaya Cattouse, Marathon Organizer
“The full marathon in the female category was won by Ana Camp and the time was better than last years’. This event would not be possible without the Belize City Council, the National Sports Council of Belize, Atlantic Bank, Medinas, KV Events, this is a huge event and one that we want to get much bigger, because in every big city across the world there is a marathon. You have the London Marathon, the New York Marathon, the Boston Marathon and we want Belize City to be one for those venues. This is not only something to promote health and wellness but this is also something we hope in the future will bring sport tourism to our country in the month of September.”
And now we have some football action from Sand Hill Village. We are talking about the Marconi Leal Football Championship. On Friday night, Sandhill Blue Hawks took on Survivors in the match for first place. Surivors control the ball at the start of the game. Twelve minutes into the match and a Blue Hawks player is fouled. The referee blows the whistle and issues a yellow card. Blue Hawks with the spot kick and a rocket from number nine goes directly past the goalkeeper and into the goalpost.Thirty-eight minutes into this one. The ball is thrown into the penalty box. Survivors are in control on top of the penalty box, and an easy touch towards the goal sends the goalkeeper flying. He is unable to hold that one. That’s a goal for Survivors.
Things get testy between the players just before the end of the first half. The referee steps in to calm down the players. Check out this highlight play, number nine for Survivors with the ball, as number ten for Black Hawks defends. The chest kill, spin, he goes to the left, back to the right and sprints down the line, makes an abrupt stop, pushes forward and through the legs of number ten. But in the end, the ball goes to waste. It’s the second half of the match, number one for Black Hawks receives the ball outside the penalty box and beats the defender. He is alone out front, faces off with the goalkeeper, kicks the ball and it goes into the net.
In this play a hard tackle inside the penalty box leads to a foul and a penalty kick. Here is the kick and that’s another goal for Survivors to tie the game. Black Hawks is in control on the line. The ball is thrown in and an easy header by number nine for Black Hawks sends the ball into the goal and gives them the lead. The game ended four goals to two in favor of Black Hawks, the 2023 Marconi Leal Football Cup Champions.
And from football, we bring you some volleyball action. Belize’s Male Under-Twenty-Three National Volleyball Team is currently in Panama competing in the Under-Twenty-Three Central American Volleyball Championship. The tournament began on Sunday with a highly anticipated matchup between Belize and its most formidable opponent, Costa Rica. Costa Rica with the first service of the match. Tyrell Locario picks it up. Kerwin Palacio, back to Locario and the attack from Ernest Broaster puts Belize on the scoreboard. Service by Brayden Richardson. The ball rolls off the top of the net and into the play zone. That is a second point for team Belize, a great start to the game.
Belize is in the lead with ten points to Costa Rica’s seven. Hakan Godoy is up to serve. Costa Rica gets the ball across. Eleazar Mejia, Richardson, Palacio with the fake, but Mejia just couldn’t get there on time. That is point for Costa Rica. Costa Rica serving, Lucario to Richardson, he sets Palacio and Palacio powers the ball into the play zone. That’s too much for Costa Rica to handle. Broaster with the serve, the ball is back to Belize, Richardson again to Palacio for the unstoppable combination. Team Belize would go on to take the first and second set of the match.
In the third set Costa Rica serves the ball. It’s back to Costa Rica. The attack is blocked. Team Belize, Costa Rica picks up the attack from deep, back to Belize and Kerwin Palacio sends that one all the way outside. Service for Costa Rica, Locario to Richardson, up to Palacio and he is blocked. That’s a second point for Costa Rica. This third set is now at nine points apiece. Service to Costa Rica, the set and the attack goes straight down the middle, an excellent play from Costa Rica. After exchanging points, Costa Rica is in the lead with twenty-one. The service is picked up by Costa Rica, there is the set and attack from behind. Locario reaches and that one goes out of bounds. Costa Rica would go on to take the third set. Team Belize came behind with an impressive fourth set to win the match.
Well folks, that is all we have for you in tonight’s coverage of Sports Monday. Catch you in the next one.