Our youth and junior Triathlon and Aquathlon team have returned home in high spirits after doing Barbados proud at this year’s second annual CARIFTA Championships at Turtle Beach, Tobago.
The two-day event, held over 29-30 September, saw Team Barbados place 4th overall out of the 11 regional teams represented, just falling short of 3rd place to Trinidad and Tobago. The Bajan team took home at total of 8 podium finishes, with another 10 Barbadians also placing in the top 10 in their respective events and age categories.
Podium finishes:
Danielle Treasure (2nd in triathlon)
Niel Skinner (5th in triathlon, 1st in road race)
Eric Lashley (3rd in triathlon, 5th in road race)
Matthieu Clarke (4th in triathlon, 4th in road race)
Ashley Weekes (3rd in Aquathlon)
Samuel Lamontagne (5th in road race)
Top 10 place-makers:
Mcallum Clarke (6th in triathlon)
Chris Pollard (8th in triathlon)
Zahra Gaskin (6th in triathlon, 7th in road race)
Kayla Renwick (9th in triathlon)
Samuel Lamontagne (8th in triathlon)
Fynn Armstrong (8th in road race)
Heidi Baker (9th in triathlon)
Isis Gaskin (6th in road race)
Noemie Lamontagne (7th in road race)
Danielle Treasure (8th in road race)
Chara Hinds (9th in road race)
Ashley Weekes (6th in triathlon)
Barbados CARIFTA Team Manager Shona Lashley said the team were proud of their achievements, despite the tough weather conditions brought on by Tropical Storm Kirk, and the significantly improved standard of regional competition this year. “Due to unexpected rough seas and high swells, the swim leg was omitted from the 11-12 years and 13-15 years Aquathlon categories and converted to 1.25km and 3.5 km road races. Because our teams’ primary strength sits with our swimming, this put us at a slight disadvantage. Had all gone according to plan, I firmly believe Barbados would have placed even higher overall, but given the ever-increasing skill sets of our competitors and the unforeseen weather issues, we are still all very happy with the results,” she said.
Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) President Darren Treasure echoed these sentiments. “We are all very proud of Team Barbados and their 2018 CARIFTA efforts. It is encouraging to see the nation’s youth stepping up and participating in regional sporting events like these and showing the region that Barbados Triathlon is a force to be reckoned with,” he said. “BFIT now turns its focus to our annual National Triathlon next weekend, which will again bring stiff regional competition to the island and make for an exciting event, both for athletes and spectators. I encourage all locals and visitors to come out for a family-friendly event and see just what triathlon in Barbados is all about.”
Treasure also acknowledged the Tourism Development Corporation (TDC), Barbados Olympic Association (BOA), Arts and Sport Promotion Fund, Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. (BTMI), the Bank of Montreal Reinsurance (BMO), Puressentials, Harridyal Sodha & Associates (LizaLaw), Sign Depot, Tile Gallery, Moorjani Caribbean (Barbados) Limited, BW Cleaning Services and Electric Villages Inc. for their support of triathlon in Barbados and in helping to get Team Barbados to CARIFTA.
This year, Barbados was represented by 22 athletes, spread across the 11-12 years, 13-15 years, and 16-19 years age group categories. Three new countries competed in the 2018 CARIFTA Championships – Bermuda, Aruba and the Cayman Islands – with the event seeing a 58% growth in entries since its inception in Barbados last year.
BFIT is the governing federation for triathlon and triathletes in Barbados, sanctioning and organising various multi-sport events related to the discipline. For more information, visit https://triathlonbarbados.com/, like the Facebook page @BarbadosTriathlon, or email triathlonbarbados@gmail.com. The full list of this year’s CARIFTA results is available at http://www.odesseytiming.com/.
Featured Image: Team Barbados at the 2018 CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships in Tobago. Left to right: (back) Eric Lashley, Lucas Austin, Niel Skinner, Chris Pollard, Zahra Gaskin, Danielle Treasure, (middle row) Oein Josiah (Head Coach), Chara Hinds, Kayla Renwick, Isis Gaskin, Amelie Baker, Samuel Lamontagne, Ashley Weekes, Matthieu Clarke, Shona Lashley (Team Manager), (front row) Fynn Armstrong, Daniel Lashley, Leah Tully-Cornic, Daria Klufas, Heidi Baker, Monique Lashley. Missing: McCallum Clarke, Emma Lashley, Noemie Lamontagne.