Nevis set to host 6th annual Olympic Triathlon

SWIM, BIKE, RUN 

NEVIS, WEST INDIES – February 26, 2008 – The Nevis Cycle and Triathlon Club and the island of Nevis are gearing up for the 6^th Annual Olympic Triathlon. The event, known as Carino Health Spa Triathlon, will be held on March 16, 2008. There will be age group races in Olympic distance, which includes a 1500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run and the shorter Sprint distance course covering exactly one-half the Olympic course and consisting of a 750-meter swim, 20-kilometer bike and 5-kilometer run. The entry fee for the Olympic Course is $75 (US) and $55 (US) for the Sprint Course. The triathlon's sponsor is Carino Health Spa, a division of the Norwegian firm, Carino Nevis, Ltd. Carino is currently developing Hamilton Estate, a luxury villa/condominium resort complex with a state-of-the-art health spa on Nevis.
            This race attracts athletes from all over the world, international athletes who participated last year coming from Holland, France, Canada, Venezuela and the USA.  Regional athletes who competed represented Trinidad, Barbados, St. Martin, Tortola, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Puerto Rico, as well as St. Kitts & Nevis.
           This year, for the first time, the race has been granted International Triathlon Union (ITU) Continental Cup status, which will allow the “elite” athletes to accrue valuable points in this Olympic year. ITU points are used to determine athletes’ eligibility to enter World Cup and World Championship events.  The event is also sanctioned by the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), a group of nine Caribbean nations that promotes cooperation in defense, international diplomacy, economic and sustainable development policies. In recognition of this special status, the Nevis Cycle and Triathlon Club will award the top male and female OECS nationals with Champions trophies.          

The swim will take place in the Gallows Bay in downtown Charlestown. There will be a beach start following a simple triangle format - two laps for the Olympic distance swimmers and one lap for the sprint. Upon completion of the swim, competitors will run along the bay front for approximately 60 meters to the transition area where their bicycles will be stationed.
             Upon leaving the transition area, the bikers will head north along the main island road, towards the airport and the turnaround point. The bicycle course is relatively flat with a maximum elevation of 150 ft. Bikers will loop the course twice for the Olympic distance and once for the Sprint, before heading back to the transition area to prepare for the run to the finish.
            The run course will be two laps for Olympic and one for Sprint. The run is flat, heading north from town out to the Four Seasons Resort Nevis, where they will turn around and head back to the finish line on the waterfront in Charlestown. Here the winners will be crowned as champions of the 6^th Annual Olympic Triathlon.

Special accommodations for the event will be provided by Carino Hamilton, www.carino.as, Oualie Beach Hotel and the Sea Spawn Hotel. For more information on rates and reservations, call Oualie Beach Hotel at (869) 469-9735 and Sea Spawn Hotel at (869) 469-5239. For more information on the Nevis Triathlon visit www.neviscycleclub.com or call Race Committee Chairman, Winston Crooke at (869) 469-9682.
            The island of Nevis is located in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies archipelago. This tiny jewel is just eight miles long and six miles wide, yet it has a natural beauty that is unparalleled. The Spanish explorers called Nevis, "Nuestra Senora de las Nieves" (Our Lady of the Snows) as a tribute to the white clouds surrounding the island’s central volcanic peak. Its green foothills support tropical rainforests, secluded valleys, historic plantations and the remains of sugarcane fields while its turquoise waters lap palm-fringed beaches.

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