Cuba's Richer Perez Cobas and Raquel Agudelo Berrio of Colombia were crowned winners of the Sea to Sea Marathon which took place in the sister-isle of Tobago on Sunday.
And Celine Lestrade, T&T's road race queen, and Venezuela's Didimo Sanchez Mendoza, sprinted to the titles in the Tobago International Half-Marathon.
Perez, a winner of T&T International Marathon as well as the University of the West Indies Sports and Physical Education Centre (UWI- Spec) International Half Marathon in the past, had earned himself the name 'The Beast' for his performances over the weekend. The Cuban, only on Saturday, sprinted past the finish line to claim the event's 10k road race.
And 24 hours later the Cuban held off his close rival Jose Elmer Ararat Diaz of Colombia in the 26.1-mile race to take the silverware in a time of two hours, 51 minutes and 10 seconds. The result means Perez has now retained the title he won last year and with another victory in 2020, he will get the trophy for keeps.
The Colombian took the runner-up prize in 2:52.26 while Kenya's Godfrey Mbihia, T&T's Thomas Adams and veteran Curtis Cox completed the top five finishes among the men.
Among the women, Agudelo cruised to the win ahead of T&T's Sjaelan Evans in three hours, 12 minutes and 47 seconds. Evans led a T&T 2nd, 3rd and 4th finishes in three hours, 35 minutes and 26 seconds which also earned her the CARICOM title.
She was followed in third by Christine Regis (3:54:05) and fourth place Chantel Lemaitre (3:55:26).
Meanwhile, Lestrade who recently took the Eastern Credit Union (ECU) gruelling 15k from St Joseph to Arouca Junction and back, continued her rich form with victory in the half marathon.
Her finish in one hour, 39 minutes and 52 seconds also saw her take home the Caricom Category female first-place prize.
Among the men, Sanchez Mendoza broke a trend of second-place finishes by crossing the finish line four minutes ahead of his close competitor. Despite the sweltering hot sun, the Venezuelan took 1 hour, 10 minutes 50 seconds to be crowned champion, gaining the better of Kenyan Alex Ekesa (1:14:06). The Kenyan, like Perez, had taken part in the 10k event the day before, where he placed second.
MARATHON RESULTS
MEN
1- Richer Perez Cobas (Cuba) 2:51.10, 2- Jose Elmer Ararat Diaz (Colombia) 2:52:26, 3- Godffrey Mbihia (Kenya) 3:04:43, 4- Thomas Adams (TT) 3:10:02, 5- Curtis Cox (TT) 1:10:53, 6- Michael Honore (TT) 3:12:01, 7- Adeline Lamorell (4:06:41).
WOMEN
1- Raquel Agudelo Berrio (Colombia) 3:12:47, 2- Sjaelan Evans (TT) 3:35:26, 3- Christine Regis (3:54:05), 4- Chantel Lemaitre (3:55:26), 5- Dominique Em Martineau (4:02:51), 6- Camille Hernandez (4:05:04), 7- Adeline Lamorell (4:06:41).
HALF MARATHON
MEN
1- Didimo Sanchez Mendoza (Venezuela) 1:10.50, 2- Alex Ekesa (Kenya) 1:14:06, 3- Junior Ashton (St Vincent) 1:15:49, 4- Shirvan Baboolal (TT) 1:16:28, 5- Oshane Archibald (Jamaica) 1:21:25, 6- Lionel D'Andrade (Guyana) 1:23:45, 7- Guswil George (1:23:51).
WOMEN
1- Céline Lestrade (TT) 1:39:52, 2- April Francis (TT) 1:53:00, 3- Patricia Sorias (1:58:19), 4- Alana Umraw (1:59:57), 5- Grit Blackman (2:00:00).