Aniqah Bailey, Nicholas Romany star at inaugural Degree 5K

NATIONAL middle-distance runners Nicholas Romany and Aniqah Bailey shone brightest on the weekend when they won the respective male and female categories at the inaugural Degree 5K at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, on September 6.

Over 1,000 runners and walkers participated in the event in overcast conditions. Hosted through a collaborative effort between Bafasports and Unilever, the men’s 5K offered up a real thriller as Romany just kept his wits about him to defeat Darius Harding in a tight battle. Romany, who copped the men’s 1,500-metre title at last month’s National Association of Athletics Administration (NAAATT) Open Championships, won the Degree 5K in 16 minutes and 59.3 seconds (16:59.3), with Harding a close second in 17:07.3. Romany and Harding finished second and third respectively in the 5,000-metre final at the NAAA Open Champs and the former held his own on this occasion to beat his club mate to take the Degree top prize by eight seconds. TT Coast Guard’s Kerron Ali placed third 17:19.1.

The women’s 5K race was much more straightforward, as Bailey crossed the line more than two minutes ahead of her nearest challenger. Bailey claimed the top spot in 20:10, while Juliet John-Sambrano placed second in 22:59.3. Third place went to Joselle Gibson who clocked 25:00.7.

A September 7 Bafasports release said Unilever has now come on board as “the latest supporter of Bafasports’ vision of healthy people and a healthy planet.”

The release said the 5K served as the launching pad for Unilever’s new whole body deodorant and is expected to become an annual event. Proceeds from the event will go towards supporting underprivileged young athletes.

Unilever’s commercial head Mani Maraj said co-hosting the event was intended to forge a more purposeful connection with its consumers.

“Unilever held its first-ever Degree 5K event and the participation, support and engagement was an incredible success,” Maraj said.

“For the first time, we truly celebrated together the power of movement and how our power brand Degree is the perfect partner on this journey.”

Bafasports CEO Nigel Bellamy said the Degree 5K is the dawn of a new legacy and expects it to be a feature on south’s event calender going forward.