International athletes, AUA faculty and students, and the general public competed in the Digicel-Jonathan Rohr Memorial Tinman International Triathlon on Sunday, January 31st.

The event promoted the memory of Jonathan Rohr, a third semester student at AUA and an accomplished triathlon athlete who died in his sleep last November.AUA’s Dr. Robert Mallin biked the 56-mile leg of the competition and his wife Dr. Kim Mallin ran its full 13.1 miles as they competed for AUA, one of 22 teams participating. Cheryl Stephens, a classmate and roommate of Jonathan’s, swam the full 1.2 miles of the swimming competition. Dr. Robert Mallin commented, “AUA’s team was inspired by Jonathan’s memory. I rode with John and found him to be an outstanding athlete, and thought he had a future as an outstanding physician.”French International triathlete Benjamin “Benji” Sanson was proclaimed the winner of the event. Many AUA students and faculty attended the awards ceremony.Jonathan’s stepmother Rebecca was on hand for the awards ceremony and his family and fiancé assisted in the planning of the triathlon. Jonathan’s father has been involved by urging better health-screening standards for extreme athletes, an area where AUA may play a role in the future. Jonathan had been spending most of his time outside of AUA training for the event that was dedicated to his memory.AUA was a major sponsor of the triathlon. The event was hosted by the Wadadli Triathlon Club and endorsed by the Antigua and Barbuda Triathlon Association and Ministry of Sports.