TT triathletes to feature at Rainbow Cup

TT triathlete Jenna Ross will compete at the 14th Massy Rainbow Cup in Tobago, on June 9.
TT triathlete Jenna Ross will compete at the 14th Massy Rainbow Cup in Tobago, on June 9.

THE nation’s top junior triathletes will test their level of readiness for the 2018 CARIFTA Triathlon, Aquathlon and Mixed Relay Championships in Tobago, on September 29 and 30 by competing in the 14th Massy Rainbow Cup, on June 9.

The event will again bring top regional and international triathletes to Turtle Beach, Tobago. Among the list of competitors would be TT’s top junior athletes vying for titles in the sprint distance triathlon.

Event organiser Jason Gooding said it will be great for the youngsters to experience a high level event at home, leading up to the event in September.

“The good thing about what the Rainbow Cup offers is that it offers a professional event that you don’t have to travel around the world to get too. We try to get a high level of athletes and we try to encourage them to come down to the event,” Gooding said.

Gooding expects the sprint distance triathlon to be a competitive event. Gooding said, “We have a bunch of our young athletes doing well in the sport. We have Rachel Grosberg and Kristen St Omer (among the girls). In the boys we have Jean-Marc Granderson, Jonathan Thompson, Logan Raymond and Hayden Reid. A lot of the top youngsters are doing the sprint, so that should be a nice competitive sprint triathlon as well.”

In the Olympic distance, Gooding said he expects the regional and international athletes to take centre stage with competitors expected from Barbados, Jamaica and Canada. Local athlete Jenna Ross, who competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia in April is registered, but top local men’s triathlete Jason Costelloe is not confirmed to compete.

Gooding said, “In the Olympic distance race we don’t have much stiff competition (from the locals) for the foreigners coming down. It is just mostly a battle of foreigners.

We have (Barbadian) Jason Wilson, about four Canadian guys coming down to compete and we are still trying to talk to the Venezuelan guys that did well last year to see if they are coming back.

We just waiting for local guys to step up to that level.”

Canadians Benjamin Rudson and Garrick Loewen will compete, along with Barbadian Oein Josiah among the men. The women’s category will comprise Jamaican Elisabeth Mondon and the Canadian pair of Nina Sieh and Maia Idzikowski.

Registration will close the night before the event, but Gooding said some categories will be closed off earlier if all spots are filled. Some of the other events are a kids triathlon, a 5K run and a try-a-tri triathlon for beginners in the sport.

People have been getting problems travelling between Trinidad and Tobago because of ferry issues.

Gooding said it is always a concern with the ferry between Trinidad and Tobago, but believes with proper preparation athletes and supporters can travel without an issue.

The TT Spirit has been operating between the two islands relatively smoothly over the past month.

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