Triathlete Gianluca Bortoli cherished the chance to represent Bermuda after surviving a bike crash to place 22nd in the youth men’s sprint at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal on Thursday.

In a strong field of 32 competitors, Bortoli completed the sprint-distance course in a combined time of 57min 55sec, 4:42 behind race winner Artur Gaspar, of Portugal. The 17-year-old completed the 750-metre swim in 8:50, the 20km bike ride in 30:18 and the 5km run in 17:57.

“Representing Bermuda on such a high stage has been such an honour,” Bortoli said.

“These Games have been an incredible experience, even outside of competition. I unfortunately didn’t have the race I wanted as a result of a crash early on in the bike, which ultimately had me riding the remainder of the bike by myself.

“Despite not having the performance I wanted, it is still a great honour to represent Bermuda on this stage alongside my team-mates.”

Bortoli’s American coach Michael Harlow was pleased with the effort put in by his athlete, praising his composure and determination against a strong international field.

“First of all, I am incredibly proud to represent Bermuda at these Games and want to thank everyone who helped make that possible,” Harlow said.

“The race was an excellent experience for Luca which will serve him very well in the long-term despite not going the way we wanted.

“He got out of the water with his best swim to date just 20 seconds off the lead and rode the first lap of the bike strongly.

“Unfortunately, as he rounded the U-turn to start lap two, he got pushed into a barricade which caused him to come unclipped and lose his chain. The pack got away from him at this time, forcing him to ride and run the remainder of the race solo.

“The pack he was riding with eventually caught the lead. As a strong cyclist who was comfortable in the pack and at the front, we are confident that Luca was in position to come off the bike with the lead and contend for the podium.

“Luca handled the disappointment with grace and never stopped giving it his full effort. I am very proud of Luca’s tremendous grit which makes him the incredible athlete that he is, it is an honour to coach an athlete with such talent and desire.”