Youngsters beat their elders at Triathlon Team Relay National Championships
The future of triathlon in Bermuda looks bright if the results of the Liberty Mutual Mixed Team Relay National Championship are anything to go by.
The young team of Sanchez Smith and Naomi MacGuinness were talented enough to beat their elders and win the mixed senior title at Clearwater Beach on Sunday afternoon.
The dynamic duo, racing under the name Double Trouble, stopped the clock at 56min 45sec, more than three minutes ahead of teenagers Ella Shepherd and Jacob Wright (59:48) with Caroline Black and Byron Rencken finishing third (59:59).
Youth also came to the fore in the senior all-male event as Jackson Langley and Dylan Eiselt did what their team name Smash Fest suggested by dominating from start to finish before crossing the line in 49:37. They beat past and present triathlon national champions, Alex Waldauer and Will Green (52:24) by nearly three minutes with Jasper Lau and Rory Shepherd (54:13) finishing third.
The team of Ashley Couper and Megan Berry combined brilliantly to win the senior all-female race in 59:04. They had just over a minute to spare over Isla Cooze and Sofia Leclerc (1:00:26), with Kelise Wade and Riana Robinson rounding out the podium (1:02:10).
The Bortoli family of Carina and Gianluca took the honours in the senior family category, recording an impressive time of 54:50 to beat the MacGuinness family of Neil and Jonah (1:03:40) by nearly ten minutes. Vivienne Lochhead and Caelan Cabral (1:04:04) finished third.
The Senior Corporate Team division was won by Jens Drea and Steven Smith, of VT Construction, in 55:05, with Michael Evans and Nicholas Greet (Aonfsg, 1:01:41) runners-up and Meghan Diel and Steve Horton, representing Liberty, third in 1:13:44.
In the Junior age groups for competitors aged 7 to 10, Niklas Bock and Heath Kemp were victorious in the all-boys race, with Bethany Davidge and Madeleine Friend successful in the girls event.
Elliott Davidge and Chloe Durkin won the mixed contest, while Liam and Nolan Horrobin won the junior family race.