Costelloe defends Caribbean Triathlon title

Jason Costelloe
Jason Costelloe

TT triathlete Jason Costelloe braved the tough rainy, windy conditions to defend his title in the Olympic distance at the Caribbean Age Group Triathlon Championships in Miami, Florida, on Sunday.

Early morning rain and high winds forced race officials to shorten the event because of safety concerns. Instead of a 1500m swim, 40K ride and 10K run, the Olympic distance was shortened to a 1000m swim, 33K ride and a 7K run.

Costelloe battled the conditions to win in a time of one hour and 36 minutes, which was almost nine minutes ahead of the second place finisher.

Jason Costelloe

Costelloe said his victory was one to savour, given the difficult circumstances.

“This 2018 Caribbean Age Group Triathlon Championship event will go down as one of my most memorable races, simply due to the challenging conditions that I overcame to capture this title. In the end and looking back, I think this was one of the best I have ever felt for a triathlon. Maybe the horrendous conditions were a benefit for me,” Costelloe said.

During the swim, high winds meant strong currents and waves were hitting the athletes from all angles. Costelloe managed to get out of the water just behind the front pack in seventh place.

The cycling leg was just as difficult for the athletes, with Costelloe describing it as “one of the most intense rides of my life.” The street was covered in stagnant water with winds of 45 miles per hour and constant rain.

Jason Costelloe

“I was clocking upward speeds of 65 km on sections of the course with side winds...the bike was not easy to control. I tried to stay within my bike handling capabilities, but definitely pushed the boundaries a few times.”

After successfully negotiating the swim and ride, Costelloe was confident of victory.

“At this point, I was feeling on top of my game, and decided to give it my all and step up my intensity level. I finished the run with again the fastest run time by nearly two minutes.” Costelloe thanked his sponsors Beacon Insurance, GNC TT and Tridium Caribbean Limited.

The Caribbean Age Group Triathlon Championships is a non-governed event organized by directors from British Virgin Islands, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, TT and the US Virgin Islands.

Some of the qualified nations included Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Haiti, Jamaica and TT.

TT had a contingent of other athletes that took part as well, including Troy Llanos who placed third overall in the sprint category (400m swim/16km ride/3.5km run).

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