Costelloe wins Caribbean Triathlon gold

Costelloe, who is also an avid mountain biker and road cyclist, won the Olympic distance triathlon race which comprised a 1,500-metre swim, 40km ride and 10km run. Costelloe finished with an overall time of two hours, 10:34 seconds (2:10:34), after completing the swim in 23:17, the ride in 1:03:15 and the run in 41:41. The second place finisher was a distant 12 minutes behind.

The Caribbean Triathlon Championship featured athletes from Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Curacao, Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, and Puerto Rico among others.

Talking about his success, Costelloe said, “When I won it I was literally speechless. It is really an unbelievable feeling to win the Caribbean Championships especially since this is my first time entering the event. It was definitely one of my most memorable wins to date.” Despite his victory, Costelloe said the conditions on Sunday were difficult. “The conditions were a little tricky because they had winds up to 35 kilometres an hour which made the swim a little difficult.

The breeze was hitting you from the side so you had a little current to play with. The main challenge came on the bike where you were getting hit with the 35km breeze, either from your front, from your back or your side, which made the cycling part of it a lot more challenging,” he explained.

What gave Costelloe the edge though was that cycling is his strength and he unsurprisingly extended his lead on the chasing pack during the bike leg.

Costelloe, who won the National Duathlon Championships recently, is not getting swell-headed by his triumphant Caribbean debut and still feels he can get better.

“Hard work by many have gone into these results and I am very pleased with my performance. I still see room for improvement and I will only keep on striving to better myself,” he said.

He hailed the love and support from his fiance, friends, family, coaches, as well as his sponsors including The Beacon Insurance Company Limited and GNC Trinidad and Tobago.

The ultimate goal of the Caribbean Age Group Triathlon Championship, held in conjunction with the Mark Cycle International Triathlon Championships, is to bring Caribbean nations together with a common goal of developing young athletes in the region.