By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

JASON Costelloe, Ralph Wood and Ellen Morgan were among the biggest winners in the Bahamas Triathlon Association’s 2019 National Championships.

Held on Sunday morning at Jaws Beach, the event featured four different categories with almost 100 competitors participating.

Sponsored by Commonwealth Bank, the event also served as a qualifier for the BSA as they prepare the team to represent the Bahamas at the CARIFTA Games.

Association president Dorian Roach said the event was a great one and the Olympic Triathlon was quite competitive, while the entries for the juniors far exceeded their expectations.

“We had some great races in the 13-15, 11-12 and 9-10 divisions,” he said.

“We will be sorting out the results from this race and the Sea Waves Beautiful Triathlon to get the qualifiers for CARIFTA over the next week.

“So it was a great event. We are really happy with it. We got a lot of support from corporate Bahamas, so we are happy with that.

“Hopefully we got some good money to go towards the CARIFTA team and I think that will help us to establish ourselves as a great event for the future.”

With 17 competitors entered in the Olympic Triathlon, Roach said the event turned out to be a real good inclusion in the nationals this year.

In a showcase of Caribbean rivals, Costelloe pulled away from Bahamian national champion Jorge Marcos to take the title in the newly implemented Olympic Triathlon - comprising of a 1,500 metre swim, 26-mile bike race and 6-mile run - back to Trinidad.

“The race was nothing short of fantastic. This was my first time racing in Nassau and it lived up to its expectations,” said Costelloe.

“The swim was just absolutely perfect, the ride was great and the run was wonderful with the spectators cheering you on.”

Costelloe, 34, completed the swim in 25:31, well behind Marcos, who was the first out of the water in 20:51. Costelloe, however, made up the difference on the bike in his time of 56:39, compared to Marcos’ 1:01:20.

On the run, Costelloe slowly pulled away (39:50) for the win as Marcos did 44:12. Costelloe finished the event in a time of 2:03:11.

Marcos, also 34, finished the course in 2:07:33. Barbados’ Adam Cripwell was third in 2:11:24.

With Marcos moving up to the Olympic Triathlon, Wood, just 17, came though as the overall winner of the Sprint Triathlon - 750m swim (9:59), 12-mile bike (36:55) and 5Km run (21:53) in 1:10:47.

Wood was the winner of the 16-19 division.

Simon Townend, competing in the 50-59 division, came in second in 1:11:43. The 50-year-old did the swim in 12:22, the bike ride in 32:14 and the run in 24:50.

“It was good, a lot of fun,” Townend said. “It was a beautiful course. I’ve done a number of triathlons around the world and you can’t ask for a better environment for the swim.”

The first female finisher was Ellen Morgan in 1:16:27 as the 35-year-old new mother did the swim in 13:19, the bike in 36:51 and the run in 23:56. “It was a great race. This one is always organised, great crowd and although it was a bit tough in the heat, it was still awesome,” Morgan said.

“I would have liked to have seen more women out there, but there is a core group of us that come out, so we try to push each other along.”

The junior segment of the triathlon saw a number of winners in the various age groups.

Callum Pritchard took the boys’ 9-10 title in 22:38, Aydan Bain won the 11-12 title in 23:52 and Damani David was the winner in the 13-15 division in 38:51.

On the girls’ side, Issa Bournas took the 9-10 title in 26:01, Anjaleah Knowles took the 11-12 title in 25:51 and Kaitlyn Williams got the 13-15 crown in 42:25.

And in the Puppy Aquathon, comprising of a 50m swim and 1k run, Sibby Fynn Porter won the boys’ 1-9 title in 6:58. Mathis Bournas was second in 7:21 and Neil Adrian Morada was third in 7:27.

The girls’ event was won by Veranique Strachan in 7:44. She was followed by Morgan Pinder in 8:42. McKayla-Grac Wood was third in 8:45. Complete results will be published in another edition of Tribune Sports.