Sport: Eastbourne Aquathlon 2020

Competitor Rosie Clifford gives us the lowdown on this year’s Aquathlon

t was an early morning start for Eastbourne College’s 2020 Aquathlon, where over 40 students from the college took part in the I

Aquabourne event. The race consisted of a 500m sea swim followed by a 3km run along Eastbourne’s beautiful seafront. We arrived at 7:30 am gathering on the Western Lawns, having received a race pack with our numbers, timing chip, swim hat and a medal which everyone received for braving the event.

We set off at 8:45am sharp, diving into the sea for the first leg. At first I was unsure whether to wear a wetsuit but with so much adrenalin I never once got cold! We all dived in at once, desperately fighting to get ahead and follow those at the front of the pack. The sea was fairly wavy that day so going against the current at some stages made it even harder to conserve my energy. Transition time is key and having never done an event like this before it was hard to know how I should prepare for the run. Not putting on socks surprisingly made the transition much quicker and may have given me valuable seconds off my overall time!

As I left the transition station, sparing a few moments to hydrate, I began the run with only one intention in mind: to keep up my position and to not let the swim affect my pace too much. Having done some running over the lockdown period, I felt I had built up some fitness to sustain me on the run yet a 500m swim before had really tested my strength! The last 2km, however, is where I built up my speed as I knew I was ever closer to the finishing line. The competitive atmosphere urged me to keep going and I managed to secure First Place for the Senior Girls with a time of 23.49.

Everyone who took part should be extremely happy with themselves and the strong team spirit we had that day made it an event to remember.

ROSIE CLIFFORD, YEAR 13, BLACKWATER HOUSE