Trinidad and Tobago long distance swimmer Stefan Sharpe splashed to victory when the Barbados Amateur Swimming Association hosted their first-ever 5k International Open Water Swim from popular Accra Beach to picturesque Carlisle Bay.Sixteen-year-old Sharpe, who was third in the 2009 edition of the Hyundai Maracas Open Water Championships, was among a field of 27 competitors from several Caribbean islands competing in the Barbados event.
He emerged the overall winner in a time of one hour, one minute and 32 seconds.
Sharpe’s impressive swim made him victorious over three Olympic swimmers, one of whom was Barbados’ very own Bradley Ally.
Conditions for the race were extremely rough and choppy, with waves breaking well over 100 metres offshore. Nevertheless, Sharpe fared well in the turbulent waters and kept the lead position from start to finish, swimming out into the open water and avoiding the more turbulent coastline.
Towards the latter part of the race he was confronted by strong currents which proved to be very challenging. On entering Carlisle Bay, visibility became an issue, as the wide expanse of the bay, together with the customary very busy nature of the marina, made navigating of the race buoys very difficult, forcing him to pause several times to take stock of his bearings.
However, the Marlins swimmer, who is the son of local adventure racer Robert Sharpe, made his way to victory and to the completion of his first ever 5K open water swim race.
Sharpe’s next outing will be to represent Trinidad and Tobago at the open water 5K swim as well as in some pool events in Cuba later this month at the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships (CISC).
Stefan Sharpe wins 5K
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