Eventual winner Timothy Leacock (right) and second placed Ian Skeete (backing) holding onto the Ford Focus just over an hour before the winner was announced yesterday. (SP)

by TRACY MOORE

THE LAST MAN STANDING was Timothy Leacock.

He was announced winner of the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) Socaholics Extreme Focus competition yesterday afternoon when his hand was the only one remaining on the brand new $62 000 fully-loaded Ford Focus at about 12:45 p.m.

Sounding sleepy and tired yesterday afternoon after winning the contest, Leacock, of Mount Gay, St Lucy, told the DAILY NATION it was the first time "I have won anything of this magnitude".

The Socaholics Extreme Focus competition started from 10 a.m. Saturday with 20 people focused on taking the coveted car home.

They endured the sun, heat, blisters and elimination contests, which included balancing an egg in a spoon, drinking bottles of water and making paper planes – all using only one hand while the other remained on the car.

"I am mashed up but I feel wonderful. The car is stunning. I feel wonderful to be the person to be driving it.

"I will be taking my son to school, to picnics and I'm taking him to the circus first thing as soon as I get the car," the 31-year-old Barbados Defence Force Corporal said.

The former long-distance runner also won a Sony Ericsson Z520 cellular phone and a Delta Airline ticket for one for winning the paper plane contest.

Diane Forte, marketing and corporate communications officer, said the two-day competition was challenging even with the timely breaks.

Second placed Ian Skeete represented his sister Catherine Skeete, of Pinelands, St Michael, won two tickets on Delta Airlines to any United States destination the carrier flies.

Coming in third was Keith Thornhill, of Eden Lodge, St Michael, who also won a Delta Airlines ticket and six months' access to CBC's MultiChoice.

Forte confirmed that a radio announcer made a mistake when she announced that Thornhill was the winner as early as 8 a.m. yesterday.

The competition was sponsored by McEnearney Quality Inc. and Consolidated Finance.