Kampar, Malaysia, July 10, 2024: Athletes and coaches from 25 countries in Asia were urged to speak a common language “triathlon” over the next eight days as the inaugural Olympic Council of Asia World Triathlon/Asian Triathlon Youth Development Camp got underway on Wednesday, July 10.
The first-ever triathlon youth development camp organised by the OCA in collaboration with the World and Asian governing bodies for the sport commenced in Kampar, 200 kilometres from the capital Kuala Lumpur. It will be held from July 10-17.
A total of 73 participants – 48 boys and girls aged between 14 and 17 years and 25 coaches - will participate in the swim-bike-run disciplines that make up the challenging Olympic sport in this former tin-mining hotspot of Malaysia
“There are many nations and many languages here but for the next few days, we will all speak a common language called triathlon and we are here to assist you in doing that,” said Vicent Beltran, World Triathlon development officer.
The OCA chose 25 countries from Asia for this ground-breaking residential camp in triathlon. They are: Bahrain, Chinese-Taipei, Hong Kong China, India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macau China, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Thailand, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and hosts Malaysia.
“This is the first-ever triathlon youth development camp organised by the Olympic Council of Asia and we have the best instructors from the world as well as Asia to generate knowledge which you can take back home,” said Jean Zhou Jian, OCA Director of Media and TV Broadcasting, who along with Wissam Trkmani, OCA Special Projects/Olympic Solidarity Manager, has helped facilitate the organisation of the camp.
Beltran urged the athletes to not only learn about the sport, but also to make friends saying: “It is important to expand your network and meet new people because that’s where the magic happens.”
There will be a number of other instructors assisting Spain’s Beltran in the swim, bike and run sessions every day along with theory classes. They include Jordanian Firas Al-Hmood, head coach and World Triathlon Development Administration Coordinator, coaches Lini Kasim (Malaysia), Lindzi Nader (Lebanon) and Pooja Chaurushi (India).
“All of us are here to assist you in your development,” Beltran said.
