High drama highlights inaugural EU-Jamaica 5K

IN AN exciting end to the European Union-Jamaica 5K race on Sunday, the male top performers provided a nail-biting finish.

Garfield Gordon, the winner, and Noel Ellis, the runner-up, both crossed the line in 16 minutes, seven seconds (16:07), while Dwayne Graham was a close third in 16:17.

The women’s run event saw Jozanne Harris produce a strong finish to claim first place in 20:00, after her recent win at the Sigma 5K. Michelle McNally was second with a time of 22:00 and Pauline Murphy, third in 23:00. Both male and female top-three winners in the EU-JA 5K were the same in the recent Sigma 5K, with the Noel Ellis moving from third to second in Sunday’s EU-JA 5K.

More than 2,000 persons turned out for the half-marathon, with the first 2,000 finishers receiving a special commemorative medal.

Hosted by patron of the event, broadcaster and social media influencer Khadine ‘Miss Kitty’ Hylton, scores of participants remained for post-race entertainment, which featured dancehall sensation Romario ‘Laa Lee Ranks’ Ricketts.

Among the government officials who participated in the race were: Dr Horace Chang, deputy prime minister; Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade; Fayval Williams, minister of education and youth; Delroy Chuck, minister of justice; and Delroy Williams, mayor of Kingston.

Members of the diplomatic corps and representatives of international organisations included: Olivier Guyonvarch, French ambassador; Jan Hendrik van Thiel, German ambassador; Nick Perry, US ambassador; Juan José González Mijares, Mexican ambassador; Rungsung Masakui, Indian ambassador; Lilia Burunciuc, World Bank Caribbean director and Denise Antonio, UNDP resident representative.

Among the sponsors were: St Mary’s, Mountain Peak, Recycling Partners, Cal’s Manufacturing, KingAlarm, Running Events Jamaica, Kingston Creative, TVJ, Radio Jamaica, HITZ, Jamaica Observer, The Best Dressed Chicken and Catherine’s Peak Spring Water.

European Union Ambassador Marianne Van Steen said: “The inaugural staging of the EU-JA 5K event on Sunday was a resounding success and met our objectives. We were particularly pleased with the participation of the community groups and runners of all ages, which was a symbolic unification in our push against crime and violence.”

Race director Alfred ‘Frano’ Francis said he was pleased with the turnout, especially from community groups in downtown Kingston, who were sponsored by the European Union.

The inaugural EU-JA 5K met its target of raising funds for a special literacy summer camp at Kingston High School.

The summer camp will be organised by the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) and Creative Language-Based Learning, an educational non-profit.

The camp is part of the MOEY-led Inter-Ministerial 34 Schools’ Strategy and the broader Citizen Security Plan of the Government of Jamaica, supported by the EU. The strategy was developed to strengthen services, specifically in schools located within zones of special operations. These schools have identified literacy as a crucial issue to be addressed to improve academics, safety and security.