Three-Time Olympian Stephanie Horner Wins Twice At Barbados Open Water Festival

Courtesy of Kristina Evelyn, Barbados.

When the curtain came down on the 8th Barbados Open Water Festival, it was the Canadians who had claimed most of the podium positions in the four races. Stephanie Horner, a Pan American Games medalist and 3-time Olympian was victorious in both the 1.5 km race and the 10 km race. Horner, the first Canadian female to win an FINA Open Water Swimming World Cup event, hopes to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the second qualification race. If she qualifies, Horner will become the first Canadian to swim at four Summer Olympic Games.

The Barbados Open Water Festival at Carlisle Bay kicked off on November 6th with 150 swimmers at the practice swims at various venues. The races and charity swim started November 9th with the 1.5 km race. The first race greeted by overcast, thick black clouds looming and news of a severe thunderstorm only 20 miles away in the north of the island. The race continued through a torrential downpour which began as soon as the horn sounded for the start of the race. Thunder was audible in the distance as the 395 swimmers crossed the finish line. In contrast on the following day, the sun came out on an absolutely gorgeous day that presented excellent conditions for 300 swimmers in the 3.3 km, 5 km, and 10 km races.

A large group of young open water swimmers hailing from all over Canada who were led by Mark Perry, the Canadian National Open Water Coach, were present at the Festival. Days ahead of the event, the talented young swimmers were training both at the local Aquatic Centre and in the Bay with red and white Canadian national team swim caps always visible. Perry’s crew included Eric Brown who won the 1.5 km, Catherine Minic who won the 5 km, and Drew Edwards who won the 10 km. Several others from the group finished second and third. Ashley Hogg of the UK was able to break through the Canadian domination in the men’s 5 km.

The host swimmers of Barbados were well represented in all of the races with a 1-2 finish in the 3.3 km and several age group placings in all races. Adara Stoddard and Toni Walrond of Barbados brought it home with first and second place finishes in the 3.3 km. Canadian Zack Hebert-Jarema was the male winner in 3.3 km race.

The hundreds of recreational swimmers who attended from around the world were thrilled with the presence of two marathon swimming legends: Cameron Bellamy and Jaimie Monahan. Both are more comfortable with much longer swims, but enjoyed jumping in the shorter races much to the delight of other competitors. Many wrote on social media about swimming with the two swimmers with such comments as: “It really was an honour and a memory that I’ll cherish to have been able to swim alongside you. Continue to inspire.”

It has been a landmark year for open water swimming in Barbados. The Barbados Aquatic Sports Association (BASA) successfully hosted two major regional meets both with open water swimming races, a local charity took to the sea to raise funds through an open water relay race and most recently a local and traditionally “pool swimmers club” for juniors hosted a highly popular open water meet.

Additionally, Bellamy used the island’s waters as his training ground throughout the year and then swam an unprecedented 151 km from Barbados to St Lucia in September to complete the longest channel swim. The Barbados Open Water Festival hosted passionate open water swimmers from around the globe and was the finale for what just may be the most outstanding year of open water swimming in the island’s history.

The 2020 Barbados Open Water Festival is scheduled for November 4th-8th.

Top 10 1.5 km Results:
1. Eric Brown 16:50.4
2. Bailey Hairsine 16:53.0
3. Ian Friesen 16:55.9
4. Drew Edwards 16:57.6
5. Liam Clawson-Honeyman 16:58.0
6. Quinn Matteis 17:12.8
7. David Quirie 17:13.2
8. Guillaume Lord 17:16.3
9. Xavier Pimentel 17:17.2
10. Ashley Hogg 17:17.9
The rest of the 1.5 km results of the 322 swimmers are posted here.

Top 10 3.3 km Results:
1. Adara Stoddard 47:44.5
2. Toni Walrond 47:46.3
3. Zack Hebert-Jarema 48:56.9
4. Ethan Roachford 51:20.1
5. Zachary Best 51:25.2
6. Lesley Dusevic 51:44.4
7. Rylan Marville 51:50.2
8. Luke Mcintyre 51:52.1
9. Stanley Brooker 52:16.1
10. Linda Sanders 52:42.0
The rest of the 3.3 km results of the 154 swimmers are posted here.

Top 10 5 km Results:
1. Ashley Hogg 59:17.5
2. Ian Friesen 59:21.8
3. Jean-Felix Pelletier 59:50.9
4. Quinn Matteis 59:54.9
5. Joshua Baldwin 1:01:33.9
6. Catherine Minic 1:04:20.3
7. Juliette Davidson 1:04:29.5
8. Jordan Greber 1:05:31.7
9. Eric Dupre 1:05:57.8
10. Eric Lashley 1:06:25.7
The rest of the 5 km results of the 93 swimmers are posted here.

Top 10 10 km Results:
1. Drew Edwards 2:01:04.8
2. Eric Brown 2:01:26.1
3. Liam Clawson-Honeyman 2:01:35.5
4. David Quirie 2:01:53.5
5. Antoine Marchand 2:02:22.7
6. Stephanie Horner 2:02:27.7
7. Bailey Hairsine 2:03:15.7
8. Guillaume Lord 2:04:59.5
9. Xavier Pimentel 2:05:01.0
10. Kenna Smallegange 2:07:24.7
The rest of the results of the 54 swimmers are posted here.



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