ROHRMAN SPORTS ASSOCIATION

The Antigua Athletic Club and its home team STORM (Antigua Aquatic Club) has teamed up with some of the star athletes coming to the island for the Digicel Jonathan Rohr Memorial Tinman triathlon to offer a Swim with the Pros Day free of charge on Friday January 27th  2012. 

Professional French triathlete Benjamin “Benji” Sanson, a former youth world champion swimmer and now one of the fastest swimmers in triathlon, will be the main focus of the event. 

Forty-year-old Sanson, who has been a professional triathlete for almost 20 years including at the ITU and Ironman levels, has been a dominant force in the swim leg of triathlons where he often exits the water first including at the most competitive of races in the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. 

AAC coach Mark Mitchell said every swim club in the island has been invited to the event where Sanson will talk about the challenge of becoming a world champion, offer technique demonstrations, answer questions and swim in a fun race against relay teams from the different swim clubs. Mitchell added, "We jump at the opportunity any time our young, aspiring athletes can get exposure to world-class athletes, such as Benjamin. It's a great example of what is possible if you dedicate yourself to achieving your goals."  

General Manager of the Antigua Athletic Club, Caroline Hopton, said, “We are delighted to host this event and it’s our way of giving back to the community and offering a fun and motivational day for the kids involved in swimming.” 

The relay is expected to be the highlight of the event where the swim teams will seek to best Sanson through combined efforts. And with impressive swim times of 1:49 for the 200m, 3:47 for the 400, 7:51 for the 800m and 15:00 for the 1,500m freestyle, it should be a fun day  Argentinean professional triathlete Claudio Delpueche and Nevisian professional triathlete Reginald “Reggie” Douglas will also be on hand for the event to answer questions about swimming and triathlon. 

The event starts at 4:00pm and runs until 6:00pm on Friday January 27th 2012. Any inquiries can be directed to the Antigua Athletic Club at 460-CLUB (2582). 

The event will act as a precursor for many of the swimmers to the Digicel Jonathan Rohr Memorial Tinman, a unique sporting challenge where competitors in four sports; swimming, cycling, running and triathlon compete over a gruelling 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile cycle and 13.1 mile run on Sunday January 29th 2012.