On Friday 9th December, 21 members of the BIS Barracudas travelled to Bangkok to take part in the Bangkok Patana Feeding Frenzy swimming competition which ran over three days.
This competition is one of the highest-level school swim meets in Southeast Asia and to get selected for this competition is an outstanding achievement alone. BIS HCMC were up against the most elite swimmers from 16 different international schools. For some of our swimmers, it was the first time they had ever swam and raced in a 50m swimming pool.
On Friday the long-distance races took place (400, 800 and 1500m Freestyle and 400m IM). We had 5 swimmers competing in these races; Florence, Will, Sao Mai, Kyu In and Ben. Every single swimmer did themselves and BIS proud by swimming excellent races and some even coming away with a medal. It was a long day of travelling and evening races, but the students handled it remarkably.
Friday Medalists:
Florence – Gold 800m Freestyle
Sao Mai- Silver 800m Freestyle
Will- Silver 1500m Freestyle and 400m IM
Saturday was the first full day of racing, and it was jam packed full of fast swimming. Our swimmers were challenged both mentally and physically as they were up against very fast, experienced swimmers but they did not let that phase them. We did not receive one DQ the whole weekend, demonstrating the hard work that these swimmers have put into their training. On Saturday our swimmers collected 12 medals between them.
Saturday Medalists:
Nathan- Bronze 200m IM
Alex – Silver 50m Breast
Aoy- Silver 200m IM
Nicole- Bronze 200m IM
Sao Mai- Gold 50 Fly, 200Fly, Bronze 200 IM
Ben – Bronze 200m Fly
Benny, Alex, Cosme, Nathan - Boys 9-10 Medley Relay – Silver
On Sunday our 9-10 year olds dominated their age category gaining many points and medals. The team spirit was incredible and BIS were cheering until the very end (parents and students). Despite 3 very long days of swimming, the energy remained high, and BIS showed their strength and determination. The coaches and parents were very proud of all the swimmers.
Sunday Medalists:
Nathan- Bronze 200m Freestyle, Silver 100 fly
Benny- Bronze 50m Backstroke, Bronze 100 Fly
Nicole- Bronze 100 Fly
Sao Mai- Silver 100m Fly
Nathan, Benny, Cosme, Alex- silver boys 9-10 freestyle relay
To finish the weekend, we had the end of meet presentations. BIS came away with 3rd most effective team overall, 26 medals and second overall in the boys 9-10 age group. This is an outstanding achievement for BIS especially being up against some of the top sporting international schools in Asia.
Well done to all swimmers involved, we are so proud of you!
Sophie Roberts
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