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Bahrain Endurance champions James Cunnama and Jodie Swallow will be celebrating their newly-wedded bliss in the kingdom as they race for glory in the Ironman 70.3 Middle East Championship on Saturday.
The triathlon power couple only tied the knot last Friday in South Africa surrounded by family and friends but are still thrilled to be ‘honeymooning’ back on the island and competing alongside the world’s top triathletes.
Michael Gilliam, Bahrain ndurance team managing director, said odie and ames are the new addition ‘super couple’ to the sport. t’s a match made in heaven and we couldn’t be happier for them. They started dating in 2011, travelling and racing together as much as possible.
Gilliam added They are honeymooning in Bahrain by racing together odie will be a big threat overall. She is in great form and a real warrior in the sport and can race seven or eight in a season, while others can barely manage five.
She is tough and we are epecting something special from her. heard ames had a great bachelor party so don’t know how he will fare in the race but, on a serious note though, he too is a true warrior and always gives his best for Bahrain ndurance. He has always been a solid performer and we should see him amongst the top five. The new Mrs Cunnama, a 5-year-old Brit, recently took to social media to share her ecitement about ‘the best day of her life’ when she got hitched to her South African sweetheart, but still took time to mention the weekend’s ronman challenge, saying on Facebook that she was looking forward to the race in Bahrain again.
Last year she finished fourth. ven on her big day, odie shared three tips with fellow athletes on the Bahrain ndurance website for how to enjoy race day. She said perience people. Watch other people’s faces, their joy, their pain, their effort and acknowledge their achievement.
The difference in peoples’ goals, in their shapes and their abilities is what makes this sport come alive. eep perspective. Triathlon is a sport and sport is marvellous because it mirrors
life.
Like life, it is the process rather than the result that matters in the end. Sometimes people endure pain because they have no other choice the grieving, the ill, the injured and the victims. acers endure pain too, but in racing it is our choice and it is not infinite.
Appreciate the freedom to eperience pain, as we want. Millions would give anything for that privilege. Her sporting journey started as a young swimmer, progressing to track and cross British Triathlon Awards Dinner.
Her 33-year-old husband has many accolades to his name too. The child of two parents who have completed multiple marathons, Cunnama excelled in the junior categories at local races and was completing halfmarathons by the time he reached16.
When he moved to Port Elizabeth for university he discovered triathlon, especially after volunteering at the Spec-Savers HalfIronman in 2004 and the full distance the year after. In
2010, he won the challenging Alpe d’Huez Triathlon then went on a streak in the US winning Ironman 70.3 Austin as well as two ironman races.
He recorded a sub-8 hour time in his win at Challenge Roth in 2012 and the following year was placed fourth at the Ironman World Championship. Cunnama is half of the triathlon world’s ‘fastest couple’ winning the Ironman 70.3 South Africa in 2014 alongside his new wife.
Saturday’s event in the kingdom is being organised by the Bahrain Triathlon Association and features an array of activities starting tomorrow. The event is being held under the patronage of HRH Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander and First Deputy Prime Minister.
The triathlon comprises of a 1.9km swim taking place in Bahrain Bay, which is said to be a safer environment because it is sheltered from the wind due to the structures around it and the current is supposedly nowhere as strong as last year’s problem setting at Prince Khalifa bin Salman Park.
The wind didn’t help and the currents so close to the Hidd Bridge made the swim unsafe and eventually the event organisers had to reluctantly make the only safe decision and cancel the swim leg to huge disappointment … a triathlon is just not the same without the swim.
The swim will be followed by 90km of cycling through historical and cultural landmarks before reaching the Bahrain International Circuit (BIC). The final leg, a 21km run, will take the participants on a scenic route in the Al Areen Wildlife Park area before finishing back at the Sakhir circuit.
This competition will be taking place for the second year in Bahrain with special additional events such as IRONKids and IRONGirl being held on Thursday at the track. The happy couple will be swimming, cycling and running against a 2,000-strong adult field, including Bahrain Endurance 13 teammates such as Australian Caroline Steffen and Samuel Appleton, American Ben Hoffman, New Zealand’s Terenzo Bozzone, Slovenian David Plese and Swedish Fredrik Croneborg.
According to Gilliam, other contenders to watch are Plese and Appleton. He said: “Sam is the young gun at 26 and in the prime of his athletic ability. He focuses on the half distance. “I’d like to urge the young people of Bahrain to come out and support him.
After all, he is someone that young Bahrainis and expats can aspire to and relate to. “As for David, he has just posted his fastest Ironman time of 02:45:17 run in Arizona. He did lead in Hawaii in the world championships so he got a little taste of what it’s like.
David lives here in Bahrain about four months of the year so people might recognise him running around training. I want to see him produce again and deliver.” Meanwhile, Bozzone is fired up after his recent victory at Ironman Western Australia.
He finally struck gold taking his first title and smashing the men’s course record with a sub-8 hour finish in 7:51:25, more than four minutes clear of the previous record set last year at this race. It is also the 12th-fastest Ironman-distance finish time in history.
Steffen also has something to prove as she came second last year to Daniela Ryf who picked up a $1million prize in Bahrain after winning three challenge races. Ryf will be competing as part of a team and cheering on women participating in the 5km IRONGirl event tomorrow at 5pm.
The top three in the IRONGirl competition will receive trophies. In the team event Ryf will be competing alongside German Olympic gold medallist, Ironman 70.3 World champion and Ironman World Champion Jan Fredono, as well as Spanish five-time world champion Javier Gomez.
This is Gomez’s first competition since breaking his arm before the Summer Olympics in Brazil. Children will also be racing at the track tomorrow at 6pm in IRONKids. Children under the age of four will run 100m and youngsters between the ages of six and eight will compete in 500m.
Children aged eight to 10 will run 1km, 10 to 12 years will compete in 1.5km and between 12 and 14 will run in the 2.5km race. There will be trophies for the top three children in each category and special surprises for all those participating.
The organising committee will also be launching an expo tomorrow from 10am to 7pm on the sidelines of the event featuring triathlon equipment used in Ironman championships. The first day will conclude with an opening ceremony and race briefing.
The expo will continue on Friday from 10am to 4pm, while a swim practice will take place at 7.30am near Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, followed by the bike check-in between 10am and 5pm. On Saturday, the Ironman will start at 7am.
