Bermuda’s budding triathletes Rory Shepherd and Gianluca Bortoli impressed at the United States Triathlon Youth and Junior National Championships in West Chester, Ohio, last weekend.

Bortoli, who entered the Junior Draft-Legal Male 16-19, finished 32nd of 71 in a time of 59min 25.39 sec. Shepherd clocked 31:29.19 to finish sixth of 70 in the Youth Draft-Legal Male 13-15.

While he missed out on the top-30 finish he was eyeing, Bortoli was delighted to finish the race in under an hour.

“US Nationals was by far the most competitive race I have done thus far with a field of 71 triathletes, some of whom were collegiate athletes,” the 16-year-old told The Royal Gazette.

“I wasn’t sure what to expect going into the race, but I was hoping to finish in the top 30. In the end I placed 32nd, which I was really happy with. I also broke an hour for the first time, which was one of my goals for the season.

“The swim was really challenging as I had a bottom seed meaning I had to start in the middle of the start line. That is the most aggressive and chaotic area of the start as people are pulling and swimming over the top of you.

“Despite this, I had one of my best swims of the season but coming out of the water I was still 50 seconds back from the peloton, which I later caught.

“Overall, I really enjoyed racing against such a large and competitive field. Because of the camp I attended last month, I was able to join one of the other tri-teams doing the mixed team relays the next day, which was a lot of fun.”

Shepherd was thrilled to take part in what he described as the biggest challenge in his blossoming career.

“I was really excited to compete at the US National Championships and it’s the highest standard of competition I’ve experienced so far,” the 14-year-old said.

“The top ranked triathletes in the United States were all there and it was the pinnacle of their season.

“Racing was always going to be challenging for me because we were told only two weeks before that I would be allowed to race as a non-US athlete. Thus the race was not one I had been aiming at all year and had to consolidate my preparation in the last two weeks.

“I got a great start in the swim and came tenth out of the water. I managed to get up to the front group by the end of the first bike lap, but could not break away on the second, despite trying a couple of times.

“The seven leading athletes reached the second transition all together, so it was a running race from there to the finish. Unfortunately, I did not quite have the legs to beat my competitors and had to settle for sixth place.

“I was initially disappointed as I had beaten most of those in the top five previously. But ultimately, that is racing, and small margins make a lot of difference.

“I found the race more intense than usual, especially at the start. It was hard to get into a good position on the pontoon. I felt more nervous than usual and definitely not at my best.

“I really enjoyed racing the competition because they were all fast. The course was also exciting with lots of fast corners on the bike, I tried to stay with the others on the run but I just couldn’t quite do it.

“It helped me for Carifta as a very competitive race, probably even more competitive than I will find there. It has given me more confidence, if I can deal with everything that happened at the US Nationals.’’

Bortoli used the US Nationals, together with the Flatlands Cup, to gear up for the Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships, to be held at the end of the month in Trinidad & Tobago.

“US Nationals along with the Flatlands Cup have both been really helpful in preparation for the Carifta Triathlon at the end of August,’’ he said.

“I have been able to practice racing sprint distance, which is new to me as I recently aged up. It was a great way to outline my weaknesses and areas of improvements at this new distance.

“Additionally, it was a good opportunity to race against some of my primary Caribbean competitors ahead of Carifta.

“I qualified for the US Nationals after racing in the Flatlands Cup in Iowa last month. Thanks to the help of the Bermuda Triathlon Association and the US Triathlon Association I was able to attend a camp and race at the Flatlands Cup.

“I managed to come 23rd in that race, which placed me high enough to be given an invite to the US Nationals.”

Dylan Eiselt had also qualified to compete in Ohio, but he did not make the trip due to travel complications. The 15-year-old has shifted his focus to preparing for Carifta.