Exciting climax looms in Stroke and Stride

By Cayman Sports Buzz
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Updated: 14 August 2017

Marius Acker (left) has finished ahead of Stuart Bray in the first two races.

There’s little change among the leaders after two weeks of the 2017 Ogier Stroke and Stride series hosted by the Cayman Islands Triathlon Association. The second race saw repeat winners in the male and female solo events, as well as the overall team race. However, everything is still up for grabs with one race left.

The swim distance was bumped up by 200m from the opening race to 600m for the 9 August sequel with the status quo remaining for the two-mile run.

Once again, it was Victor Magalhaes crossing the finish line first for the ‘Los Dos’ team, after a solid start in the water by Krishna Adapa. They combined to complete the course in 19 minutes 46.3 seconds. Samuel Young Jr of ‘Two Young Cousins’ was less than a minute later (20.39.7) to follow the impressive start by Jordan Crooks, who was first out of the water.

: Jordan Crooks of “Two Young Cousins” was first out of the water.

: Victor Magalhaes of ‘Los Dos’ was first across the finish.

A showdown loomed in the men’s race, as two prior series winners – Marius Acker and Stuart Bray – battled for supremacy. In the end, it was a mirror finish of the first race, with Acker first (21:04.7) and Bray close on his heels (21:48.4).

There was a new face among the leaders, as national swimmer Liam Henry was the third solo male to complete the course in his debut of the competition. He crossed the finish in 22:49.7.

Liam Henry made an impressive debut.

He said he was unable to find a teammate for the race, so he decided to go it along. “Everyone was doing it and it seemed like a good challenge,” Henry told CaymanSportsBuzz.com at the finish. “I’m not really built for the land, though,” he added.

However, the teenage Stingray Swim Club member didn’t seem unwilling to give it another go. “It was new and challenging…it seemed pretty fun, so I might do the whole thing by myself again,” he said.

Jamie Hughes followed up his earlier third place finish with fourth, with last week’s fourth place finisher Matthew Seegelaar down a spot as well in fifth.

Acker leads the standings with 20 points, Bray is second with 18 points and Hughes third with 15 points.

Butler maintained her lead after the swim.

Lara Butler repeated her winning feat among women, edging Kristen Palmer by about eight seconds to take the top spot again. Butler finished in 25:01.6 and Palmer in 25:09.3, as Palmer made up ground after trailing Butler out of the water.

Marlie Du Toit was third, with Emily Davies fourth, and week one runner-up Jane Hale in fifth.

The women’s race shapes up for an interesting finish, as Butler, a former Olympic swimmer is not as strong on the run as her nearest rival. Butler holds a five-point lead with 20 points going into the finale, with Davies and Hale tied with 15 points.

The Ogier Stroke and Stride series concludes on Wednesday, 16 August at 5:45 p.m. The race will feature an 800m sea swim starting and ending at Eden Rock followed by two-mile swim south along South Church Street to Dart Park and back to the finish outside Bar Crudo on the George Town waterfront.