Wilson, Ruiz top Massy Rainbow Cup

Wilson, who was his country’s first Olympian in triathlon when he made his debut at the 2016 edition, won the overall and men’s title in two hours, four minutes and 36 seconds (2:04:36). The participants in the Olympic distance swam 1.5K, rode 40K and ran 10K. Wilson was first out the water, completing the swim in 19:07 to hold a one second lead over Venezuelan Yhousman Perdomo .

Jason Costelloe, who was the first local to finish the event, was off the pace, finishing the swim in 26:35 to lie in 13th position overall .

Wilson maintained his consistency throughout the race. He was the second fastest on the bike leg in 1:05:51, and first in the run in 38:49 to complete a commanding performance. Frenchman Clement Briere was second in 2:06:02 and Perdomo claimed bronze in 2:10:44. Costelloe, who is the national triathlon and duathlon champion, won the national men’s title after finishing sixth overall in 2:21:13 .

After the victory, Wilson said he tried to maintain a reasonable pace throughout the race. “I just try to pace myself the whole time, I tried not to dig too deep on any specific portion of the race,” he said .

The 27-year-old, who competed in the Rainbow Cup for the first time in seven years, said being an Olympian and having international experience helped .

“Yes for sure (it gave me the edge), not necessarily just the Olympic experience but all the races, all the qualifications. That experience you can’t get that anywhere else, so that definitely helped today for sure,” he said .

Like Wilson, Ruiz had the lead among the women from the start in the swim leg and even held her own against the men. Silver medallist Christelle Laurent of France tried to fight back in the ride and run, but she could not dig herself out of the hole after the swim leg. Laurent was more than eight minutes slower than Ruiz in the swim. The South American completed the swim in 22:06, while Laurent came out the water in 30:21 .

Ruiz, who is 24 years old, grabbed gold in 2:25:14 and Laurent earned sliver in 2:29:34. Canadian Nina Sieh claimed bronze in 2:31:58 .

TT’s Jenna Ross defended her national women’s title in 2:32:49, placing fourth among the women .

Ross also won the women’s title last year in 2:33:03 .

Ruiz, speaking through a translator was ecstatic with her win. “I am very excited and happy to win today. The organisation is really good despite seeing some vehicles on the street. I am really happy to dominate the three segments from swimming, riding and then running.”
SELECTED RESULTS:
Olympic Distance Overall and Men
1. Jason Wilson - BAR - 2:04:36
2. Clement Briere - FRA 2:06:02
3. Yhousman Perdomo - VEN 2:10:44 6. Jason Costelloe - TT - 2:21:13

Olympic Distance Women
1. Genesis Ruiz - VEN - 2:25:14
2. Christelle Laurent - FRA - 2:29:34
3. Nina Sieh - CAN - 2:31:58
4. Jenna Ross - TT - 2:32:49

Sprint Triathlon Men
1. Oein Josiah - BAR - 1:07:37
2. Phillip Mccatty - JAM - 1:08:59
3. Dwayne Roach - TT - 1:11 :08

Sprint Triathlon Women
1. Rachel Grosberg - TT - 1:19:49
2. Noa Shepherd - TT - 1:27:06
3. Alana Lee Wo - TT - 1:28:54

Sprint Triathlon Relay (men and women combined teams)
1. Ryan Mendes/Joshua Alexander/ Clarance Tobias - ECO Adventures - 1:06:25
2. David Cockburn/Jason Frederick/ Jason Frederick - 1:10:08 - XO Multisport
3. Daio Omiss/Mark Arriendell/ Shiva Ramdenny -1:14:51 - Massy (The Original) .