The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Although they only got one medal, head coach Dorian Roach said the Bahamas’ four-member team performed exceptionally well at the inaugural Carifta Triathlon in Bridgetown, Barbados.

“I was very proud of everyone, considering that this was the first one,” Roach said.

“We had the smallest team, but we had two people finish in the top 10 with Noah Roach winning a bronze medal, so that was something to be proud of.”

Based on what he saw, Roach said he felt the team’s performances slipped when they made the transition from the water to the bike where he felt countries like Trinidad & Tobago and Barbados were more superior. Guadeloupe, he said, stood out on the run.

“I think we could improve a little more on the bike, which was really our downfall,” he pointed out. “But individually, I think the competitors all held their own.”

Noah Roach, competing in the boys’ 11-12 aquathlon, picked up a bronze medal on the first day of competition. His time of 10 minutes and 4.54 seconds placed him behind Guadeloupe’s gold medallist Verin Mathis (9:49.31) with Allen Israel of Jamaica taking the silver in 9:57.57.

In the boys’ 13-15 aquathlon, Oliver Townsend finished 14th out of a field of 24 competitors in 19:22.56.

Barbados got the gold and bronze from Niel Skinner (16:20.50) and McCallum Clarke (16:37.42).

Nathanael Adenet-Louvet of Martinique won the silver in 16:37.01.

In the triathlon competition, Noah Roach had to settle for 12th place in 29:42.30.

Trinidad & Tobago got the gold and bronze with Luke Ferreira (25:08.97) and Justin Boynes (26:41.19) finishing in that order respectively. Mathis Verin of Guadeloupe won the silver in 26:02.06.

Townsend was eighth in the triathlon in 37:40.63.

Skinner moved up to claim the gold in 35:08.64 with Trinidad & Tobago’s Darian Nimblett taking the silver in 35:41.05 and Barbados’ Eric Lashley getting the bronze in 36:07.71.

Benjamin Derbyshire, competing in the boys’ 16-19 division, was 11th in 1:26:35.12. Guadeloupe’s Leynce Gossec won the gold in 1:08:33.78 with Dominic Pugliese of the US Virgin Islands taking the silver in 1:08:39.50 and Ayomide Gilbert-Semper of Trinidad & Tobago carting off the bronze in 1:08:48.71.

And Kami Roach got 11th in the 11-12 girls’ triathlon in 32:25.33. Anh-Lee Noyon-Mathurin of Guadeloupe was the gold medallist in 27:10.57, while Lyna-Ines Hachimi of Martinique got the silver in 28:10.08 and Amelie Baker of Barbados came through with the bronze in 28:10.08.

The competitors also had some added incentive as they got to compete in the relay competition with different competitors from the various countries. Townsend headed the team of Ines Tyburn-Pastel, Amy Pounder and Mike Simms that produced the best showing with seventh in 46:52.41.

Derbyshire teamed up with Kaya Rankine Beadle, Andwele Estwick and Liam Trepte for eighth in 46:54.59.

Noah Roach was on the team of Samuel Rudden, Dario Omiss and Kirsten St Omer that finished ninth in 47:37.99. And Kami Riach, along with Leynce Gossec, Fawzi Hachimi and Amerlie Baker was 12th in 48:29.24.With this being the initial Carifta triathlon, Roach said Barbados should be commended for putting on a great show. He said all of the officials from the other countries are hoping that they can continue to develop the competition and will make a decision by February where the next event will take place.

He noted that the Bahamas intends to put in a bid to host it. The team was sponsored by The Sports Centre, Powerade, KPMG, Goldenwings Charter, The Holowesko Group, Bahamas Wholesale Agencies, The Bowers Family and a number of other private citizens.