For more than three decades, Mon Repos native, police officer, and farmer Zepherinus Knockay Joseph has championed distance running in Saint Lucia. With the long-overdue announcement of a schools’ cross country event in his name, the 50-year-old is ready to write another chapter in a long and storied athletics career, this time as a trailblazer of a different kind.
These days, everyone knows Saint Lucia for sprinting, specifically the prowess of Olympic gold medallist Julien Alfred. But for decades, middle and long distance running was the bread and butter of Saint Lucian track. Deborah Moise got our first-ever CARIFTA Games medal, 1500m bronze in 1985. Of the island’s 78 CARIFTA medals since, 12 have been in middle and long distance, compared to five in the sprints. And all but one of those five have come since 2023.
Two of those 12 medals came in 1993 and 1994. Joseph took silver in the event in Fort de France, Martinique, then bronze in Bridgetown, Barbados, a year later. His run of 15:19.12, later that same year in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, remains the national junior record to this day. Joseph also holds a host of senior records from 1500m to the marathon.
Joseph went on to earn a scholarship at the University of North Florida, where he is now in the Hall of Fame. From 1999 to 2002, he was a four-time NCAA Division II All-American in Jacksonville, twice in the 10 000m, and once each in the 5 000m and cross country. The Micoud Secondary graduate also grabbed NCAA medals in cross country, 5 000m, and 10 000m.
Upon graduation, he qualified for the men’s marathon at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He had the signal honour of not only carrying the nation’s flag, but leading the Parade of Nations, due to the spelling of Saint Lucia in Greek. He was named 2006 and 2009 Sportsman of the Year in Saint Lucia, and in 2021, he was granted the Les Piton Medal – Gold.
Now, Joseph is pouring his decades of experience into helping prepare the next generation of Saint Lucian middle and long-distance athletes. The vehicle will be the Zepherinus Joseph Cross-Country Invitational, which will include primary and secondary school student-athletes, promoting fitness, sportsmanship, and community pride.
“My aim, really, is to introduce the schools to cross-country running,” Joseph told St. Lucia Times. “So hopefully we could get a cross-country season going in the upcoming years, where the kids will use the fall season, running cross-country to prepare them for track in the coming season. Hopefully, we could sell that idea to the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Sports, so that they could organise school races, and maybe use my race as a national championship, or just leave it as an individual event where all the schools come out and participate. But my goal really is to have a cross-country season in Saint Lucia.”
Leaning on the success countries like Trinidad and Tobago have enjoyed by incorporating cross-country running into the school sports programme, Joseph notes that running over open, natural terrain, such as dirt or grass, helps athletes across a variety of events to build their stamina. Come November 21, at Dame’s Recreational Park in Vieux Fort, the nation’s greatest distance runner ever is keen to influence the next generation.
So far, he has received support from his club in Martinique, Golden Star Athletisme 1919, which donated six trophies. Member of parliament, Jeremiah Norbert is on board. Joseph has commitments from other interested parties, and he set up a GoFundMe to help raise funds. But he is still on the lookout for additional sponsorship for logistics, prizes, and athlete support. This may be a brand-new concept for the island, but Joseph wants to hit the ground running.
After years of national representation from his mid-teens, Joseph is back to taking his first steps in a new race. He absolutely intends to go the distance, creating a lasting tradition that will celebrate youth, talent, and healthy living. He is putting his legacy on the line to build a stronger sporting future for Saint Lucia. And there is no finish line in sight.
People interested in making donations can visit his GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/zepherinus-joseph-xcountry-invitational
