Four young triathletes put themselves in contention to represent Bermuda at the Youth Olympics by competing in the World Triathlon Development Regional Cup Bridgetown, which was held in Barbados on Sunday.

Gianluca Bortoli, Sanchez Smith, Lucas Bule and Madison Schindel took part in the sprint event, with Bortoli boosting his chances of securing the sole male ticket to Senegal later this year by finishing fourth of 18 in the elite division. He completed the 750-metre swim, 20km ride and 5km run in 1hr 0min 3sec, just missing out on the podium.

Bule was fifteenth in 1:11:38 and Sanchez seventeenth with a time of 1:17:47. Schindel clocked 1:16:40 to settle for thirteenth of 17 competitors in the women’s elite.

Missing out on the podium did not seem to bother Bortoli, the oldest member of the Bermuda delegation.

“It’s always tough being one place off the podium but I’m not too disappointed with the result as the three who beat me were very strong competitors,” the 16-year-old told The Royal Gazette.

“With the race being both a Central American and Caribbean Games qualifier as well as a Youth Olympic qualifier, it was quite competitive and attracted some much older athletes ranging all the way up to 23.

“I really enjoyed being able to race against some of my Caribbean rivals that I typically would only get to see during Carifta triathlon, or other random overseas races.”

Bule embraced the challenge of competing in a higher age group.

“Overall, I am really happy with how my first event went at this elite level,” he said.

“I am grateful to have had the opportunity to travel and represent my country in this new age group.”

While things did not go as planned for Smith, he feels he picked up some valuable lessons.

“It was a challenging race and one that did not go as I had hoped,” he said.

“I learnt valuable lessons that I can take into future competitions. Thank you to the Bermuda Triathlon Association for the opportunity to compete at this level.”

Schindel faced seasoned NCAA Division I triathletes in her division, which proved to be a tough ask for the 15-year-old. Her race was won by Zoe Adam, from Puerto Rico, who competes for Arizona State University.

“The competition from the other teams was pretty hard as there were a lot of older athletes, some being college athletes and I was the youngest in the group,” she said.

“I think I could have done better as my bike and run didn’t go as well as I had hoped. I had a strong swim and came out with a good pack of girls, but couldn’t get into my shoes fast enough to go with the pack, so had to ride alone which was mentally and physically hard.”

Coach Alex Waldauer praised the young triathletes for adapting to the difficult conditions.

“I couldn’t be prouder of these athletes for their performances in Barbados,” Waldauer said.

“They showed real courage on the start line, resilience through tough conditions and great character at the finish. A sprint triathlon is never easy, especially in that heat, but they supported one another and represented Bermuda with pride.

“Sunday was about more than results, it was about growth, determination and proving they can rise to a challenge.”

Steven Petty, the BTA president, commended the triathletes for producing strong performances against older competitors.

“I was very impressed with the results of our young team who competed with the best triathletes from the Caribbean and Central America,” Petty said.

“Some athletes were four and five years older than our group. A true reflection of the hard work and dedication they have put in as part of the BTA’s junior development group.”