PORT DE PLAISANCE--SXM Tri Academie’s Gabriel Pertusot won the 2025 BDO Half Marathon distance (21.1K) on Sunday, shaving close to ten minutes off Intergeneration Runner Jeannot Gouin’s winning time last year.
The third edition of the BDO Half Marathon powered by International Liquors, Trading and Tobacco (ILTT) hosted by Country Club Port de Plaisance, took place in ideal conditions, attracting an unprecedented 300 entries in all four categories, a record considering Bacchanal Sunday was also taking place over the hill.
The Half Marathon itself was contested remarkably by 96 runners, making it the biggest category by far.
Pertusot’s winning time was 1:23:54 with SXtreme Runner Gautier Mathieu de Fossy taking second place in 1:24:and SXM Tri Academie’s Gregory Pigeon in third place in 1:25:15. The first two were in the 18-39 category and Pigeon in the 40 plus category.
First female to finish the Half Marathon was Melina Bruneau in 1:55:03, 36th overall, with Manon Poillion second in 1:57:54 and in third Marine Sabot in 2:00:27.
The 10K with 59 runners run was won by Jordan Surriray in 40:45, second went to Julien Chaboeuf in 42:36 and third place to Dick Janssen in 43:50.
The first female to finish was Roma Dhanani in 50:02, second Nathalie Hyman in 55:25 and third Marine Costes in 56: 39.
The 5K run with 70 runners was won by Risto Chalkov in 20:16, second Reikai Rodgers in 20:36, and third Christen Fleming in 20:43. Fleming was the first female to finish. Second female to finish was Nathalie Maniez in 23:26, and third female Stephanie Igbokwe in 24:17.
The second, third and fourth place finishers were in the Under 18 age group.
Some 60 participants took part in the 7.5K walk won by Marlon Hart in 51:58. Franklin Philipps was second in 54:18 and third Lynn Taylor, first female, in 54:41. Second female to finish was Annebelle Hervet in 57:36 and third Georgina Cornely in 1:00:59.
“We were fully booked at registration but I think 15 runners did not finish in the end,” noted SXM Road Runners President Krispijn Teunissen. “We had a lot of kids from Anguilla and 20 from Learning Unlimited (LU) for the 5K. We started the 5K earlier because we knew the 10 runners would be fast and Marlon Hart, the winner from the walk, finished very fast.
“What’s nice about this event is that tourists staying on the island often sign up for the race. So we had participants from the USA, Canada, Netherlands, St. Barths, and more, making it an international event.”
Teunissen, who thanked all the sponsors, volunteers, Red Cross, said feedback from the runners indicated all the water stops were well organised. One person from the Half Marathon fainted at the entrance to Port de Plaisance but was taken care of by the Red Cross.
The youngest runner for the 5K was 5 years old, the son of BDO Manager, Paul Lungu. Father and son finished respectively in 67th and 68th place. Other noteworthy performances came from Meks Teunissen in 80th place in the Half Marathon, the only runner in the Under 18 age group, and Daniella de Windt, with a 27th place in the 5K.
The event was made possible by ILTT, Fiji Water, NEC Distributors, Tri Sport, Shipwreck Shop, Country Club at Port de Plaisance, Patty Healing Hands, Heavenly Water, Super U Howell Center, Mix at Oceans (Divi Little Bay), Impulse Spa, Holland House, and Top Carrot. Complete results are on results.sporthive.com
