SUN, sand and sea is what comes to mind when most people think of the Caribbean.
For Brenton Andreoli, it was being stuck in a stuffy stadium.
But he wouldn’t have it any other way.
Competing in the FISAF World Fitness Championships in Martinique’s Lamentin Sport Center, which has no air-conditioning, was paradise.
The Naringal teenager will return to Australia with a golden glow after taking out first place in both the junior singles and mixed pairs aerobic events.
Speaking to The Standard while travelling on a bus to a celebratory parade, Brenton conceded his achievement was yet to sink in.
“It’s hard to believe at the moment,” he said.
“It’s really hard to believe pairs because we thought the people we came up against last year were amazing but we ended up beating them this year.”
Brenton represented Australia last year at the world titles in Russia, where he earned a bronze medal in mixed pairs with Jan Juc’s Emily Daniels.
The duo came back bigger and better in 2009, coming first in both the preliminary round and semi-final.
They were the last pair to compete in the final on Wednesday.
“We came off the stage and normally they put the score straight up,” Brenton said.
“The judges got up and were taking a long time.
“The others before us were of an extremely high standard.
“We were stressing because we thought we were going to win the preliminary and semi but not the final.”
Once the nervous wait was over, he, Emily and coach Justine Bratanavicius started jumping on each other as the routine which Brenton described as the best they had ever done earned them gold.
It marked his second gold medal in about half an hour.
He only had about 20 minutes between his singles and pairs finals.
“For the singles, it was my first time at worlds so I was pretty nervous,” he said.
“The first two rounds my routines weren’t that great so in the final I just gave it my best.”
The 16-year-old was the second last to compete.
“(The competitor who was last) did a really great routine,” he recalled.
“He ended up coming fourth. When his scores came up, all the other Australians just started cheering.
“I was even cheering for myself,” he laughed. Also cheering were parents John and Janelle, who were happy to endure the 31-degree heat and 90 per cent humidity to support their son.
"After everything finished, they went through and awarded the medals on the podium," Brenton said.
"They played the Australian national anthem.
"It was a great feeling being up there."
Brenton will watch the senior championships in the next couple of days.
He will stay overseas for a holiday with his parents before returning to the south-west in a fortnight.
Brenton thanked Bratanavicius and his parents for their support.
"If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't have been able to do this."
Email a friend