Windsor notches eight gold medals at BIS, Phuket

PHUKET: BRITISH International School (BIS) hosted 382 young athletes for its impressive third Flying Fish International Swimming Invitational and witnessed the emergence of a future star from Phuket.

Twenty-one teams represented seven countries from around the region including Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, China, the Philippines and Pakistan. The vast number of boys and girls were organized by age, ranging from 8 and under to 15 and over, with three other age categories between.

Seeing the huge number of participants, it would seem difficult for one swimmer to make a mark, but young Raymond Windsor of BIS Phuket Flying Fish (FF) did just that – emulating the medal tally of Michael Phelps’ Olympic record with an incredible eight golds.

The comparison ends there, for Phelps anyway, as Raymond not only took first place and posted personal best times in six events (200 meter Free, 50m Free, 50m Breaststroke, 50m Backstroke and 200m individual medley), but also set a new Meet record of 1:02.80 for the 100m Free.

Not surprisingly, Raymond’s stunning performances earned him first place overall in both his age group (11-12 years) and as the Meet’s highest scoring individual swimmer, with a perfect score of 120 points.

Head Coach for the FF Cyrus Crews was thrilled with Raymond’s stunning results.

“Raymond Windsor has the heart of a champion. In my humble opinion, he is one of the best, if not the best male athlete this school [BIS] has.

“He was the only Flying Fish to make the top three in any of the age groups. It is a really worthy result and he deserves huge kudos for his efforts,” he said.

Cyrus could not have asked for a better tribute to his team’s hard work over the past few years or a more fitting send-off for someone so instrumental to the organization of the FF’s International event.

“Cyrus will be leaving Phuket this August. He was the one who has made Flying Fish very strong again in the past two years.

“He will be sadly missed as he brought so much to BIS Phuket and the Flying Fish,” said Christophe Espouy, Marketing and Communications Executive at BIS.

Other Phuket swimmers to steal the remaining limelight were Areena Raksanit who came away with a haul of four gold medals in the 8 and under category and Matina Sangiamkul who bagged a hat-trick in the 11-12 age group. Both swimmers are from Phuket Country Home (PCH).

Enquiries should be directed to Head Coach Cyrus Crews at E:ccrews@bisphuket.ac.th

— Neil Quail