Jason Costelloe seals fifth national duathlon title

JASON Costelloe added to his illustrious trophy cabinet on October 27, claiming his fifth victory at the National Duathlon Championships, dethroning last year’s winner Dwayne Roach with relative ease.

Costelloe, champion in 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2022, enjoyed the fastest opening standard run at ETeck Park, Tamana, Wallerfield, before taking an unassailable lead on the bike for a deserved victory.

The 39-year-old started with intent in the opening 10K run, clocking 37 minutes 55 seconds (37:58) – 15 seconds quicker than the 41-year-old Roach – before moving clear of the ten other athletes in the 40K bike segment, finishing in 59:48.

After the final 5K run, Costelloe finished in two hours, 26 seconds, well ahead of Roach, the reigning Rainbow Cup Triathlon champion, who clocked 2:07:01. Athletes were required to run 10K, ride 40K and close with a 5K run.

Jean-Marc Granderson, 23, placed third in 2:18:17, followed by Oleg Rakitin (2:22:53), Ricardo Chacin (2:29:57), the most senior competitor in the standard race at 55, and the elite female division champion Madelena Leschik (2:42:47), who placed sixth overall.

Younger athletes took centre stage in the sprint and mini divisions.

Liam D’Abadie emerged victorious in the sprint duathlon (5K run, 20K ride, 2.5K run), in a pool of 40 athletes, finishing in 58:36. He enjoyed a balanced performance across all legs, including an 8:44 sprint for the final run.

Mark London followed in second place in 59:50, thanks to his fast opening run of 16:21. Richard Jones, the top finisher in the male 40-49 age group, claimed third with a final time of 1:03:01. Blaine Williams (1:03:44) and Dante Pichery (1:06:45), placed fourth and fifth.

Benjamin Carmino topped the mini division (2.5K run, 10K ride, 1.25K run) in 31:45, achieving the fastest overall run of 5:05 in the final leg. He was followed closely behind by Pierce Dalton-Brown in 32:02.

Lukas Clarke placed third with an overall time of 33:10, owing to a strong ride in which he clocked 16:26.

Stephen Plaza Jr (35:51) and Kylee Young (36:09) rounded out the top five.