Thai sports hotel and multisport resort Thanyapura Phuket has announced the date for the second Thanyapura Junior Challenge Triathlon competition as it ‘continues to offer exciting opportunities to junior athletes and sports enthusiasts from around the region to optimise their potential.’
Thanyapura Phuket will hold the second Thanyapura Junior Challenge Triathlon competition on Saturday 29 November in Phuket, southern Thailand.
Following on from the success of last year’s inaugural event, the 2014 edition will be held on Saturday 29 November and will again be staged in conjunction with the Challenge Laguna Phuket Tri-Fest, which is expected to attract around 1,800 adult athletes to Phuket in southern Thailand.
With participants at the Thanyapura Junior Challenge Triathlon divided into Junior [6-8 years], Intermediate [9-12] and Senior [13-18] age group categories, the triathlon will give young athletes the chance to experience the sporting facilities at Thanyapura.
The Thanyapura Junior Challenge Triathlon will include a 50m Olympic standard outdoor pool swim, a bike route across the scenic foothills Khao Phra Thaew national park and a 500m cushioned all-weather athletics track run.
Thanyapura President and Chief Executive Officer, Philipp Graf von Hardenberg, said he was excited to be continuing its relationship with the annual triathlon festival while promoting the sport at a junior level.
“We have worked hard to establish Thanyapura as a leading centre for triathletes in the region and around the world, but we are also mindful of the future of the sport,” he said. “This is why we are absolutely committed to the Thanyapura Junior Challenge Triathlon and we are delighted to be announcing its continuation today.”
He continued, “We offer a high level of development training for young athletes coached by our in house experts and many aspire to do well in this competition as it grows into a major regional junior event. Importantly too, this event matches Thanyapura’s philosophy, which focuses on the fully-rounded physical and mental development of young people to make them the best they can be, and sport clearly has a major role to play here.”
Thanyapura is targeting more than 250 athletes for the Junior Challenge, with the swim distances ranging from 50m to 300m, the bike 3K to 12K and the run 500m to 3K. Team races will also be held in the aforementioned age groups.
Thanyapura’s Triathlon Academy is headed by triathlon legend Jurgen Zack and overseen by four-time triathlon world champion and Thanyapura Executive Chairman Chris ‘Macca’ McCormack, and the Junior Challenge Event Director is Debbie Dionysius who oversaw the Laguna Phuket Triathlon for 18 years.
The complex holds a number of triathlon training sessions and camps during the year which give young athletes the chance to rub shoulders with the sport’s elite, pick up tips and take advantage of the tailor-made programmes.
www.thanyapura.com/event/thanyapura-junior-challenge-2014/
