Meks Teunissen leads Pepijn Vriezen in the run segment during the Saba Triathlon on January 21, 2023
PHILIPSBURG--The 35th Annual Boardwalk Triathlon with new title sponsor Sonesta Maho Resorts is one of the most anticipated events of the year for athletes, mainly as it has both an Olympic distance and Sprint distance for individuals and teams.
This year another item to attract beginners has been added, the “Try a Tri”, offering a 300-metre swim, 7K bike, and 2.5K run. Organiser Friendly Island Triathlon Association (FITA) has all ends of the fitness spectrum covered.
One of the categories that will be hotly contested is the Juniors. Enter Meks Teunissen (15) and Pepijn Vriezen (13) who are at the vanguard of a new up and coming generation of triathletes. Meks attends Milton Peters College (MPC) and Pepijn is at CIA.
Teunissen won the Boardwalk Triathlon Sprint distance last year in his age group and Vriezen won the Mini Triple Triathlon this year in his age category, and both are at the top of their game and training hard.
On Sunday they will be in competition with each other, playing up to their individual strengths. Vriezen particularly is a very fast swimmer. About 10 juniors are expected to participate on Sunday.
Meks has been accumulating triathlon experience every year since moving to the island with his parents and siblings in 2020 and drawing inspiration from his father, President of St. Maarten Roadrunners, Krispijn Teunissen, who is also an accomplished triathlete with SXM Tri Académie.
“My father did the world championships once and I thought that was so cool. I said to myself I’ve got to try that too,” says Meks.
Unless you are up at the top level of the sport, it’s common for triathletes in the lower ranks to have a weakness in one of the three disciplines.
“I’m really good in biking and really bad in swimming,” Meks says ruefully. “And my running is okay. Once I’m on the bike I try to make up the deficit. My swimming improved a bit since last year and my running is much better than last year.”
That’s due to sticking to a routine of doing intervals at the running track every Wednesday.
Both Meks and Pepijn did the Saba Triathlon this year, Meks winning his age category and Pepijn coming in second.
As for Pepijn his big strength is in the swim while his biking and running are “not that great.” They are opposites of each other and one can see how the two can make gains and lose gains on the course.
“But I do swim training almost every day at the Carib Swim Team Pool. My biking is not that fast and I’m getting tired by the time
Meks Teunissen leads Pepijn Vriezen in the run segment during the Saba Triathlon on January 21, 2023
