TOP TWO FOR BARBADOS! It was a one-two finish for Barbados in the 11-12 Girls’ Aquathlon with Amelie Baker (right) and Adia Deane finishing first and second respectively as Day 1 of the CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon 2017 Championships started at the Aquatic Centre yesterday. Action continues today.
The first one across the line for Barbados was Edward van Anroojj. He was behind in the swim, but made up for it on the road and finished strong with a sprint to the finish line in 1:16:07.34 hours.
Fifth to exit the pool overall was Rebecca Lashley and though the bike ride was tough, she battled through to finish seventh among the girls in 1:26:33.27 hours.
Triple Gold for Barbados in Aquathlon
IN the last two events of Day 1 of the CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon 2017 Championships Amelie Baker, Niel Skinner and Ashley Weekes brought home the first golds for Barbados after outrunning their competitors in the 11-12 and 13-15 Boys’ and Girls’ Aquathlon.
After the first event yesterday, Amelie Baker was among the youngest competitors for the competition under starter’s orders for the swim and run event in the 11-12 age group. She was not the fastest girl out of the pool, in fact fellow Barbadian athlete Adia Deane was the first girl and second overall to exit the water. The run was the telling factor for Baker where she passed Deane on the lap around the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex and crossed the line first in a time of 10:11.75 minutes. Baker said that even though she had been training for the event, it was a tough race and she was happy about winning.
“I thought maybe I would place in the Top 5, but did not expect to win. The plan was to pace myself in the swimming and give my all in the run. The running was more challenging, but the group swim was hard with everyone swimming close to each other.”
Second went to Deane in 10:20.25 minutes and Anh-Lee Noyon-Mathurin of Guadeloupe came third in 10:29.17.
Skinner and Weekes were in the final event of the day, the 13-15 Aquathlon. Skinner took to the pool first with the other boys as this was the only event of the day which saw the boys and girls separated. Skinner was across the line first under 17 seconds in a time of 16:20.50 minutes, bringing even more pride to the hearts of the Bajan spectators on hand. It was almost another one-two for Barbados, but McCallum Clarke was nipped at the line by Martinique’s Nathanael Adenet-Louvet to the cheers of the French crowd. It was a full sprint to the finish, but Adenet-Louvet stopped the clock in 16:37.01 with Clarke slightly behind in 16:37.42 minutes.
Weekes started her race along with the other girls in that division, seconds after the boys started. She showed her class in the swim and the run and was a clear victor by almost a full minute after she stopped the clock with a time of 17:29.63 minutes. Parys Noyon-Mathurin of Guadeloupe hung on for second spot in a time of 18:13.99 from Ines Tyburn-Pastel of Martinique who finished in 18:32.50. Danielle Treasure, daughter of Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) President and event co-ordinator Daniel Treasure, was fourth in 18:36.49 minutes.
In the Boys’ 11-12 Aquathlon, Verin Mathis of Guadeloupe was first in a time of 9:49.31 followed by Israel Allen of Jamaica in 9:57.57 and the two were the only athletes on the day to finish under 10 seconds. In third was Bahamian Noah Roach in 10:04.54. He was the first out of the pool, but one thing these multi-sport events teach you is to pace yourself and that the first out of the pool or off the bike may not necessarily win the race.
Barbados leads overall in the championships with 39 points, Guadeloupe is in second on 30, Jamaica third with 16 while Trinidad and Martinique are fourth and fifth with 12 and 10 respectively. (AS)