It’s been a busy couple of months for triathlon with both local and international events showcasing the calibre of talent that’s coming out of Barbados.
Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) President Darren Treasure says that this is only just the beginning, as the federation takes big steps to expand its reach. “We are actively looking to attract more support for triathlon in Barbados and for our current and up and coming athletes,” he said. “It’s exciting times for us at BFIT and we have a lot of good things coming up for triathlon. We encourage the Barbadian public get behind our events and triathletes and show your support in whatever way you can.”
This comes on the back of impressive results by both Barbadian Olympian Jason Wilson and reigning National Champion Oein Josiah at the 14th Annual Rainbow Cup International Triathlon in Tobago at the start of the month. Not only did Wilson come in first place and Josiah in sixth, but two junior Bajan triathletes also flew the flag high for Barbados in the youth categories, with Zahra Gaskin placing as the first female in the 13-15 years age group and her sister Isis placing as the third female in her 10-12 years age group.
Local triathlete Matthew Wright is also this weekend continuing his two-year Olympic Qualifying journey to the Tokyo 2020 Games, by heading to Brazil to participate in the Brasilia CAMTRI Triathlon American Championships. Wright’s journey will also include the CAC and Pan Am Games, alongside Jason Wilson, on his road to the Tokyo Olympics.
Next month, two of our finest youth triathletes Noah Kirby and Ashley Weekes will then compete in Ecuador, attempting to qualify for the Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires in October. The very same Sunday 1st July, Barbados will also welcome both local and international triathletes to Port St. Charles and Speightstown for the highly-anticipated Age Group Sprint Triathlon (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) and Sprint Relay event.
It’s set to be a big year for the sport of triathlon on the island, with Treasure revealing that next month BFIT is additionally bringing in coaches from the UK for triathlon clinics jointly sponsored by the British Triathlon Federation. BFIT is also set to announce their final CARIFTA team selection in July, as well as host the 28th Annual Barbados National Triathlon in October and participate in the Barbados Olympic Association’s BIIG Games in November, just to name a few.
BFIT is the governing federation for triathlon and triathletes in Barbados, sanctioning and organising various multi-sport events related to the discipline.
Caption: Oein Josiah (left) and Jason Wilson (right) after competing at the 14th Annual Massy Rainbow Cup International Triathlon in Tobago on 9th June.