25 years of Aviles Triathlon

The Triathlon Avilés Sports Group held yesterday, in a crowded cinema room of the Niemeyer Center, its twenty-fifth anniversary of the hand of the avilesino Jorge García, international judge, present in three Olympic Games.

The act served to commemorate the twenty-five years of history of the oldest club in the Principality of Asturias, as well as to reward the best triathletes in the region of the year, and present the team that will compete during this season in both local and regional events, national and even international. «For this year we are going to have 19 triathletes and the truth is that we are very happy. The growth of this sport in recent years has been brutal and every so often we are receiving emails from people who want to try it, "explains David García, vice president of the club.

Jorge García presented a ceremony attended by the mayor of Avilés, Pilar Varela, and the manager of the Avilés Municipal Sports Foundation, Manuel Solís. After an initial video that showed the effort and dedication that the triathlon requires to later achieve more than deserved recognition, it was time to present the team for the 2012 season of the Avilés Triathlon, made up of nineteen athletes of all ages.

García wanted to remember that Avilés is the cradle of the triathlon in Asturias, and that if the president of the regional Federation, Sharon Calderón, is from Avilés, the president of the International Federation and member of the IOC, Marisol Casado, remembers as if it were yesterday the first triathlon race that took place in this city in 1987. «Avilés has been very important in the history of triathlon in Spain and should continue to be. That the Avilés Triathlon turns 25 speaks very clearly about how well things are being done here and that this sport is no longer seen as something for supermen, but there are many tests with different distances that make it accessible to everyone » Garcia explains. Another García, David, the aforementioned vice president of the club, acknowledges that "Gómez Noya's medal may help this sport continue to grow, although I think triathlon has been going strong for several years."

The Avilés Triathlon normally trains at the El Quirinal facilities, where you can exercise both in swimming and athletics, while for the bicycle sections they travel throughout the region. «The facilities of El Quirinal meet all the necessary requirements and we are very comfortable. Now the goal is to continue working and continue competing throughout Spain.

Although the best-known names may be Javier Ferrer, Arturo Menéndez, Mareque, Legazpi, Álvarez or Ruiz, the truth is that the Avilesian club is in full progress and in each competition it is more competitive, something that is declared proud president Laura Estrada Durán, who has been at the helm of the Avilesian club for five years. "We entered 2007 and we are noticing a lot the insertion of this sport in society".