Bridgetown, on Sunday February 18, Jason Wilson Elite Triathlete got the 2018 season off to a strong start at the ITU Bridgetown CAMTRI Sprint Cup with a string of podium performances. Wilson captured 2nd overall in the American Cup and 1st in the Central American and Caribbean Championship (CAC). The 8th edition of the Sprint Triathlon race put on by the Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) recognized the top five overall winners and the top three triathletes from Central America and the Caribbean.
The elite triathletes came from Barbados, Trinidad, Jamaica, Bermuda, Canada, USA, Brazil, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and Peru. Race conditions were favourable for the 16 women and 18 men which started at 8:30am and 10:00am respectively on the picturesque course set up at Brandon’s Beach on Spring Garden Highway.
The women’s podium was dominated by the Americans save for the gruelling effort of Canadian Dominka Jamnicky. In the women's elite race, Jamnicky exited the water in second place, and quickly moved to the front of the race, riding a solo breakaway for the entire 20km bike leg in windy conditions. Starting the run with a 25 second lead over a chase pack of 4, Jamnicky was caught on the run by American Sophie Chase. The two athletes stayed close through the late stages of the run, resulting in an exciting sprint finish, with Chase taking the win in a time of 1:04:07, one second ahead of Jamnicky at 1:04:08. American Mary Alex England (1:04:36) finished 3rd to secure a second medal for USA with Sarah Alexander (USA), 1:04:45 and Ellie Abrahamson (USA), 1:04:55 claiming 4th and 5th respectively. The top three CAC finishers were Daniela Ciara Vega (CUB), 1:05:53, Erica Hawley (BER), 1:05:55, and Ana Jimenez (PUR), 1:08:47.
Similar to the women's race, the majority of the 18 elite men exited the water in quick succession, with the Barbadian hometown favourite and Rio Olympian Jason Wilson leading, and John Rasmussen (CAN) on his heels. A lead group of six athletes quickly formed on the bike, including Wilson, Rasmussen, Charles Paquet (CAN) and Michael Arishita (USA). Working well together, the lead pack established a one minute lead over Canadian Patrick Smith, who was riding solo, with solo riders and small packs further back. On to the run, Wilson, Rasmussen and Paquet quickly moved to the front, with each athlete taking the lead and testing the pace through the first 4km of the run. With 1km to go, Rasmussen (57:50) made a decisive move to split the run group, coming home to claim his first CAMTRI win. Wilson (58:06) thrilled the crowd with his silver medal performance, and claimed top spot on the podium for the CAC Championship. Paquet (58:18) capped off a very strong race to take the bronze medal. Arishita (58:28) finished fourth and Miguel Hidalgo (BRA) the 17 year old phenom tracked the more seasoned competitors to a time of 58:48 which was good for 5th place. After Wilson the next two CAC podium finishers were Pablo Herrera (CRC), 1:00:26 and Jean Carlo Monge Cascante (CRC), 1:02:18.
Wilson will be travelling to Australia to race the Mooloolaba ITU World Cup, followed by the 2018 Commonwealth Games. Matthew Wright who sustained a training injury is diligently rehabbing a broken elbow in order to join training partner Wilson at the start line of the Commonwealth Games.
BFIT is the governing federation for triathlon and triathletes in Barbados. BFIT sanctions and organizes multi-sport events, which include Triathlon, Duathlon and Aquathlon. For more information on future events and the sport of triathlon contact triathlonbarbados@gmail.com.