More than 500 swimmers from 18 countries graced the largest edition ever of the Barbados Open Water Swim Festival (BOWF), which ended earlier this week. The 10th iteration of this unique five-day event attracted close to 400 visitors, with the largest contingent coming from Canada.
“We were blessed to have the Canadian Pan-Provincial National Team participating in the Barbados Open Water Festival,” said event director Zary Evelyn. “The 15-member team significantly raised the level of competition in the races they competed in.”
The Canadian team dominated the podium in the 1.5km, the 5km, and the 10km races, whilst there was also success for Barbados’ juniors and masters.
In the 1.5km race on spectacular Carlisle Bay, Canadians took nine of the top 10 finishes. Only local junior Luke McIntyre was in the mix with a ninth-place finish out of a record 489 swimmers.
In the 5km swim, the Canadian team took the three top spots with commendable swims from locals Luke McIntyre (fourth), Matthew Lashley (seventh), and Brendon Gill (eighth).
Once again in the 10km, the contingent from the Great White North dominated, taking the top eight spots by a wide margin.
The 3.3k race did not include the Canadians as a team, thus opening the door for other swimmers to get on the podium. But it was still a Canadian, three-time Olympian Steph Horner, who seized the opportunity and came first overall. Notable local swimmers were Toni Waldron fourth, and Andrew Whitley-Williams fifth.
“Having elite swimmers like the Canadian National Team participating was certainly a great learning experience for the local junior swimmers,” said Evelyn. “And we plan to attract more elites in 2025.”
Four special awards were handed out to Barbadian swimmers over the weekend. The Jonathan Morgan Memorial Trophy for the first Barbadian masters swimmer to complete the 5K was won by Brett Massiah, breaking the dominance of challenger Rick Peters. The 5K masters female trophy was won by Alison Pile.
The Chris & Peter Gibbs trophy for top-finishing Barbadian male in the 10km marathon swim was won by 15-year-old Victor Ashby. The Clarke Family trophy was awarded to Amanda Garcia for being the first Barbadian female in the 10km marathon swim.
Other local masters swimmers who did well included Guy Whittaker and John Howard. Barbadian juniors gave a good account of themselves despite the dominance of the Canadians. Notable performances included Isabella Mayers, Alexis Lashley, Toni Waldron, Toria Alleyne, Khalia Springer, Luke and Laila McIntyre, Matthew Lashley, and Brendon Gill.
The Barbados Open Water Festival is one of the leading sports tourism projects in Barbados, and continues to grow each year. The 2025 festival is planned for November 5th-9th.
(PR)
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