Monday, May 12, 2008

The Williams Siblings - A Triathlon Phenomenon

Christopher Williams asked me a couple of years ago if I'd help him with his Year 6 Challenge. This is a school project whereby students get the chance to set and achieve personal goals. Christopher chose triathlon as his goal - not only did he achieve his goal but he managed a podium finish with a third place in his very first triathlon.

This year, his 10 year old sister, Asha, also took up triathlon as her Year 6 Challenge. She and Christopher could be seen swimming, cycling and running almost continually in preparation for this years A'Formosa Triathlon. Then disaster struck, just two weeks before the big race Asha crashed on her bike and suffered the inevitable road rash - however, this didn't deter her and she was seen lining up on Saturday the 10th of May at the water's edge. She was very nervous but as soon as the gun went off she set about the task with great aplomb.

Christopher set off like a man possessed (another of Coach Peh's pupils), both were out of the water in no time and off on their bikes. Us older kids started a little later and did a slightly longer course, so by the time I started on the run Christopher was already heading back to the finish for his first victory, he'd crushed the opposition, they were nowhere to be seen! AWESOME.

In the meantime I saw Asha as I approached the turnaround, she had the biggest smile that you've ever seen. I managed to catch her up near the finish only for her to hear me coming and she left me for dead as she sprinted for the line. Not only that but she also crushed the rest of the girls field and won the race with ease. AWESOME.




As you can see Mum and Dad are proud as punch and deservedly so. Mike and Bella have to take a some of the credit too, they have trained really hard with Chris and Asha, supporting them all the way through runs, swims and rides, not to mention the race itself - a real family effort. BRAVO!

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