Bent, James tops in Digicel Foundation 5K Walk/Run

 http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/sport/Bent--James-tops-in-Digicel-Foundation-5K-Walk-Run_15342982

BY HURBUN WILLIAMS Observer writer

Monday, October 28, 2013

Danielle James of Mavis Bank crossing the finish line to win the women's section of the Digicel Foundation 5K Walk/Run downtown Kingston on Saturday night.

An estimated crowd of 15,000, half of which were participants, turned out at the annual Digicel Foundation 5K Walk/Run for special needs entities on Ocean Boulevard, downtown Kingston on Saturday, and witnessed Damion Bent of Clarendon and Danielle James of Mavis Bank, upper St Andrew, winning the male and female sections, respectively.

Samantha Chantelle, executive director of the Digicel Foundation, described the occasion as "amazing".

Damion Bent celebrates shortly after crossing the finish line to win the men's section of the Digicel Foundation 5K Walk/Run downtown Kingston on Saturday night.

"So many people attending with over 7,000 participating with my daughter just crossing the line, it gives me goose bumps to witness the growing response the event is receiving.

"Digicel is growing in stature and with this was the response... it goes to show how much we care and how much we want to support Jamaica as a country.

"The event was much bigger than last year," Chantelle pointed out, but added: "I do not know how much bigger we want it to get. There is a sea of people in attendance for this, we want it to just get better and better each year. The thing is that we want people to come on down and have a good time, as we want to make a quality product and I am sure that we would be here years to come."

The occasion extended into the night where there was a late-night concert for the thousands who attended and wanted to further their entertainment for the evening with Miss Kitty on stage.

In the main event 5K, Bent, representing sponsors Digicel, completed the circuit in a time of 15:58 minutes, while James, representing Mavis Bank, came home in a time of 20:32 minutes.

Following home Bent back to the line was Kirk Brown, also representing Digicel in a time of 16:12 minutes, while Shawn Pitter of Digicel finished third in a time of 16:40 minutes.

In winning the women's section, James was followed home by Arieta Martin (unattached) in a time of 21:12 minutes, and Latrice McGann, Mavis Bank, in a time of 22:26 minutes for third place.

Damion Bent celebrates shortly after crossing the finish line to win the men's section of the Digicel Foundation 5K Walk/Run down town Kingston on Saturday night.