Triathlon champion Sara-Jane Cox and her husband Mark Conklin (pictured) were named on Tuesday (April 8th) as the new lease holders of Burnham swimming pool, ending months of uncertainty about the facility’s future.
Sara is the daughter of David and Ann Cox, who run the Laburnum House hotel on the outskirts of Burnham at West Huntspill.
The pair’s ambition now is to turn Burnham Pool into a Swimming and Sports Academy.
Sara told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “We can do it, but only with the goodwill of all those who who have said ‘Burnham pool must not close’.”
“Now is the time for all those thousands who signed the petition to save the pool to stand up and be counted.”
She was raised in the town and attended local schools before obtaining a Masters degree in clinical and experimental psychology in California.
She won her first swimming medal at Burnham Pool some 30 years ago and went on to become the National Modern Pentahlon Champion and world amateur triathlon champion as well as winning many races throughout the world.
Only a month ago in a world-cross country event in Utah with 1,300 runners, Sara was the first British entrant and the seventh to cross the line.
Her husband, Mark, is a world class ‘Iron Man’ and has played competitive tennis and enjoys triathlon, the sport which brought the couple together in San Diego, California and later to West Huntspill Church, where they married five years ago.
Mark’s first job was an ocean lifeguard on California’s beaches. He is currently an international sales manager for Synergy Sport Limited.
RELATED LINKS:
Official ‘Save Our Swimming Pool’ website
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