Liam D'Abadie dethrones Jacob Cox in sprint triathlon at Rainbow Cup

The 18th edition of the Rainbow Cup International Triathlon event threw up a string of intriguing races and finishes as hundreds of eager competitors put their endurance to the test at the Turtle Beach Heritage Park, Black Rock, Tobago on June 8.

Prior to the event, organiser Jason Gooding said he was considering the option of making a permanent shift to keep the event solely in Grenada, after hosting the inaugural Rainbow Cup on the island in April.

At Grenada's Rainbow Cup, 16-year-old Liam D'Abadie stole the spotlight when he won the sprint triathlon ahead of his Trinidad and Tobago countryman Noah Teixeira in one hour, 13 minutes and 36 seconds (1:13.36). At Saturday's sprint triathlon (750-metre swim, 20K bike, 5K run), D'Abadie continued his rivalry with Teixeira and the latter was one of the athletes he left in his wake as he ran to the sprint crown in a time of one hour, nine minutes and 29 seconds (1:09.29) in a 46-member field.

D'Abadie was made to work for his victory in a tight sprint triathlon finish, and he just edged outgoing champion Jacob Cox (1:09.32) into second spot as he managed a narrow three-second win. D'Abadie found himself in fourth spot after the swim component of the race, while Cox was well-positioned in second spot. D'Abadie made up the ground on his opponents with a brilliant ride, and he held off a surging Cox in the 5K run to take the crown.

The 18-year-old Teixeira was unable to keep up with the pace set by his fellow teenagers, and he finished five minutes slower than the champ D'Abadie to grab third spot in 1:14.31. Veteran Marlon Scott grabbed fourth in 1:17.26, with 17-year-old Jenae-Marie Price finishing first among the female competitors in 1:24.44. She finished ninth overall.

The more gruelling standard distance triathlon (1.5K swim, 40K bike, 10K run) featured 15 competitors, and it was Dwayne Roach who emerged as the winner in two hours, 37 minutes and 56 seconds (2:37.56). Roach gave up four minutes on the swim leg to Jean-Marc Granderson, but he showed his cycling prowess and running stamina to get the victory ahead of the latter athlete.

Last year, Roach and Granderson had another battle as they finished in second and third spots respectively as Jason Costelloe captured the standard distance crown. This time around, though, the veteran Roach was the man taking the gold medal. Spain's Eduardo Gonzalez finished third.

Over 60 athletes competed in the 5K race, and when the dust settled, 17-year-old Kayden Siewrattan (18 minutes and 15 seconds) grabbed the title after a good battle with his 43-year-old counterpart Guswil George who crossed the line in 18 minutes and 27 seconds. Raheem Modeste grabbed third spot in 18 minutes and 50 seconds, with Mykhal Paria (19 minutes and 32 seconds) finishing fourth. Zenith Athletic Club's Oshea Cummings finished first among the female runners in 20 minutes and 58 seconds. She was eighth overall.

Siewrattan and George were back at it again when their teams went head-to-head in the sprint relay triathlon. On this occasion, the veteran George had the last say when he and his Indoor Cycle Works team of Stephen Alexander and John Procope crossed the line in one hour, seven minutes and 25 seconds (1:07.25) to take the top spot.

In a keenly contested race, Siewrattan's Massy SR team grabbed a runner-up finish in 1:07.56 – 30 seconds behind their Indoor Cycle rivals. The defeat was an agonising one for Massy SR as they had copped last year's sprint relay crown. Raiders Multisport came a distant third in 1:19.40, with Not Another Swim Group (1:25.17) finishing in fourth.