"Mixed fortunes for triathletes"

From The Antigua Observer:

National athlete Rory Butler outshone his challengers and sibling Tamiko Butler had a creditable performance at the 2011 Toyota Rainbow Triathlon & 5K Sprint competition in Trinidad over the weekend.

One other national athlete, Andre Simon, failed to complete the event after picking up a puncture during the cycling stage.

Rory captured the Rainbow Cup Sprint Race and finished ahead of the competition with times of 12:33 in the swim, 35:41 on the bike and 21:33 in the run.

His performance put him ahead of Trinidad and Tobago’s Daniel Koo who was second overall but first in the Male 30-39 category. Koo clocked times of 12:53 in the swim, 35:00 on the bike and 21:39 in the run.

Another T&T athlete, 17-year-old Akil Baptiste, copped the bronze medal position with a third place finish. The youngster, who competed in the 16-19 age category, recorded times of 11:52 in the swim, 35:28 on the bike and 23:41 in the run.

Antigua’s Simon, who also competed in the Sprint Tri 20-29 competition finished at the bottom of the lot at position 95 after failing to complete the course.

Rory Butler

The capable Simon was hindered by a flat tire just 46 seconds into the bike stage after he had done 17:25 on the swim.

The nation’s lone female competitor, Tamiko, was the fourth of her gender to cross the finish line in the Olympic Tri division, but finished 10th overall.

She clocked 30:42 on the swim and was the 12th athlete out of the water before clocking 1:12:25 on the bike to finish fifth in that section.

The determined youngster ran in 1:05:43.

England’s Piers Vallance captured the Olympic distance with impressive times of 25:50 in the swim, 1:08:51 on the bike and 44:28 in the run, and was the first overall and first male to complete the event.

He was followed by Ancil Greene and Ryan Mendes both of T&T for silver and bronze, respectively.

Claire Vallance was the first female across the finish line with times of 25:23 in the swim, 1:14:49 on the bike and 48:34 in the run.

Clare Morrall of Grenada and Inga Karasek of Canada were second and third, respectively, in the female division, all finishing ahead of Tamiko

"Antiguan triathlete captures OECS title"

From The Antigua Observer:

National tri-athlete Andre Simon is the new Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) champion.

The athlete captured the title after he was the first OECS national (2nd overall) to cross the finish line when the sub-regional championships were held in Grenada on Sunday.

Simon clocked a time of one hour, 19 minutes and 54 seconds to finish behind overall winner, Akil Baptiste of Trinidad.

Baptiste, however, could not be crowned OECS champion since he is not an OECS resident.

Simon had a time of 36 minutes on the bike, 19 minutes in the swim, and 22 minutes on the run to claim the honour.

Another Antiguan, Wayne Henry (1:22.20), was third overall (2nd OECS), doing 15 minutes in the water, 37 minutes on the bike and 25 minutes in the run.

One member of the Antigua & Barbuda Triathlon Association (ABTA) Cleofoster Harris, who was in Grenada with the Antigua team, said he was pleased with the outcome and the efforts of the athletes.

“I am satisfied and I would think the athletes are satisfied also with their performances in Grenada. They both gave good account of themselves and the Association is pleased with their achievements,” Harris said.

The athletes will now turn their attention to the Tobago International that is slated for May 23 on that island.

Simon, who remained in Grenada on Sunday for the presentation and awards ceremony, was slated to return early Monday.

"Simon, Henry dominate SKB Triathlon"

From The Antigua Observer:

Two of the country’s top tri-athletes, Andre Simon and Wayne Henry, dominated the St Kitts & Nevis Sprint Triathlon & Nationals Competition held over the Easter weekend.

Simon, who has now competed in that country for the third time within a month and a half, captured the men’s division in one hour, 14 minutes and 23 seconds, while Henry clocked 1:16.55 to finish in the number two position.

Simon, who completed the swim in 12:45 before clocking 38:27 on the bike, rounded off his performance in 23:11 in the 5K run. He said that he felt good about his performance.

Wayne Henry and Andre Simon

“It’s a great achievement actually. Again, I came out pretty far behind in the water but was able to pick up on the bike and the run given that it was a very hilly course which I am very good at, so overall, it was a good achievement and I enjoyed the whole experience,” he said.

“I have to thank, first of all, the athletes that I train with and also the association because they have been very supportive along with the sponsors, Extreme Fitness and LIAT. So the fact that we have support from the corporate (community) and also the association, that has been what is really attributing to the success so far.”

Henry, who had individual times of 11:35 for the swim, 39:55 on the bike and 25:25 on the run, also expressed satisfaction with his performance.

“I feel good about it which I know there is still more improvements. Day after day, we are out there with Andre and Rory Butler just getting ready and plus we had other events before, back to back events, as we prepare for this weekend’s triathlon event in Grenada,” Henry said.

The athletes also thanked their sponsors Extreme Fitness and LIAT who both played major roles in securing their participation in the event. A team of tri-athletes will travel to Grenada this weekend for that country’s national event.