Smart Egg Kids K crowns first official champion
STEPHEN Clunis made racing history as the winner of the first officially timed children’s road race in Jamaica after finishing only one tenth of a second ahead of second-placed Sean Hewitt.
The 11-year-old crossed the finish line in a time of 3:02, edging out Sean Hewitt, who posted 3:03 to finish as the top two in the Smart Egg Kids K for four-to 11-year-olds on Sunday, November 16 at the UWI Mona Bowl.
Dante Jackson finished third with a time of 3:09.
Stephen showed a great race sense as he started out steady but then motored past the field to be crowned the champion of the Kids K.
“I had a plan going into the race to start off slow and then push on from the 500-metre mark. I feel really good that I executed the plan and got the win, as I did a lot of preparation with running hills and sands and other 5K events to get ready for this race,” said Clunis.
On the girls’ side, 11-year-old Shanille Nelson of Gregory Park Primary won in a time of 3:27. Nelson beat out Iris Gelly Primary School’s Janice O’Connor, who posted a time of 3:33 and Naomi Moulton of New Providence Primary who finished with a time of 3:42.
Olympians, Warren Weir and Hansle Parchment, along with the CB Group UWI 5K scholarship recipients, accompanied the young runners around the course for the run.
“It’s fun running with the kids, I enjoyed being out there with them and seeing their level of excitement, and the energy they have is always surprising. I am proud to be part of the event overall as it is in aid of a very good cause and some of these kids participating today could grow to be one of the future recipients of a scholarship to the university.”
“I came to the University of the West Indies as a scholarship recipient and it helped to build me as a person and as an athlete,” said Parchment.
The Smart Egg Kids K, which began immediately after the CB Group UWI 5K Run/Walk,was managed by Running Events Limited. Like the 5K, the My Laps Bib Tag chip system was used to officially time the youngsters.
The Smart Egg Kids K was run as part of the CB Group UWI 5K to raise funds for the University’s scholarship initiative and to fund the purchase of a peritoneal dialysis cycler for the University Hospital of the West Indies’ (UHWI) Dialysis Unit.
The kiddies’ race was specially designed to get children involved in healthy lifestyle practices at an early age through nutritional diet and exercise.
