On Sunday, July 26th, three of our own Phoenix swimmers had triumphant inaugurations into the world of triathlons. Students Yanni Alexander (13), Johann Derrick (10) and Coach Mark Mitchell all competed in the Antigua and Barbuda Triathlon Association’s (ABTA) event, which was held at Fort James, Antigua.
Triathlons are a good test of endurance and determination. Participants race non-stop, combining three disciplines- swimming, cycling and running. ABTA runs the event with four distance options: Olympic (1500m swim, 40km bike ride, 10km run), Sprint (750m swim, 20km bike ride, 5km run), Super Sprint (350m swim, 10km bike ride, 3km run) and Kiddies (50m swim, 1k bike, 400m run).
The trio braved the early morning weekend rousing to arrive at Fort James at 6:30am to prepare for the start. Yanni and Johann and a third athlete participated in the Super Sprint event as a team of three. The trio placed first in their event, while Mitchell placed second in the Individual Sprit event.
“The boys did a tremendous job, especially for their first outing,” Coach Mitchell said. “They have both done a lot of hard work training in the pool with our Phoenix Competitive Swimming Team. Now they are keen to extend that training to the land and attempt to compete in the event individually.”
The next event that the Phoenix Athletic Centre will be represented at is tentatively scheduled for September or October. If you are interested in joining our competitive swim team, training for a triathlon or for more information about the Phoenix Athletic Centre, please contact us at 462-1366 or email pool@ccset.net.
For the past two months Shaquille Alexander, Yanni Alexander, Emily Murphy and Jonathan Murphy have been diligently training for and pursuing their NLS lifeguarding certification with Senior Lifeguard Matthew Chu at Phoenix Athletic Centre. Training on land with lifesaving theory and in the pool with water skills, the four have developed their lifesaving techniques and are on the verge of becoming certified lifeguards.