Carifta triathlon team named
Nick Pilgrim, Caleb Ingham, Ashley Irby and Jessie Marshall are some of the senior members of a 20-member team that will represent Bermuda at the Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon in Tobago next weekend.
Irby and Marshall will compete in the 16-19 girls aquathlon, as will Taylor White and Myeisha Sharrieff in the 13-15 girls. The rest of the team will compete in both the triathlon and aquathlon, including Pilgrim and Ingham in the 13-15 boys.
The event will take place on September 29 and 30 at Turtle Beach, and is the second Carifta Triathlon and Aquathlon, the first held last year in Barbados.
The team are being accompanied by Ian Pilgrim as the manager, coach Neil de ste Croix, chaperones Donna Pilgrim and Tammy Ingham, and Tim Palmer, who is going as an ITU qualified technical official. Chequan Richardson, of Bicycle Works, is travelling as the team’s bike mechanic.
“We are very grateful to our sponsors, Tokio Millenium Re, who have been a huge supporter of triathlon in Bermuda, in particular in very generously sponsoring the team to help defray some of the considerable expenses involved in getting a team of 20, plus 16 bicycle boxes to Tobago,” Pilgrim said yesterday.
“We are also very grateful to the Department of Youth and Sport, part of whose annual grant to the Bermuda Triathlon Association was earmarked for youth events. As well as another corporate sponsor, Oakley Capital Investments Limited, who has also supported and sponsored the Clarien Bank IronKids event in prior years.”
Pilgrim is expecting some good performances from the team of 13 females and seven males who are competing in three age groups — 11-12, 13-15 and 16-19.
“The team travelling is a mixture of more experienced triathletes, such as Nick Pilgrim and Caleb Ingham, who, for the last three years, have been competing in the USA Triathlon Youth and Junior Elite series,’ Pilgrim added.
“Nick has had numerous top-ten finishes this year and last, and Caleb has had many strong performances. Many of the other team members have competed in triathlons locally and abroad in Canada on TriHedz trips for several years. For some, this will be their first overseas trip.”
Pilgrim added: “There are also a number of very talented swimmers and runners who are competing in the aquathlon — swim followed by a run. Ashley Irby will be the first Bermuda athlete to compete in Carifta for swimming, athletics and triathlon/aquathlon, and Taylor White, as well as Brian Desmond, who is a very accomplished swimmer who has represented Bermuda in swimming at Carifta, CISC and CCCAN.
“Tommy and Jessie Marshall are both very talented athletes who should also do well, as are the Hasselkuss sisters, Zoe and Jasmin. In addition we have many very talented youngsters who have been going to TriHedz and competing locally for many years who should also do well in the 11-12 age group.
“Needless to say, everyone is very excited at the opportunity to represent Bermuda to the best of their ability at Carifta.”
TEAM
11-12 age group
Girls: Daria Desmond, Jasmin Hasselkuss, Ava Gabai-Maiato, Fenella Wightman, Bella Howes.
Boys: Callum MacFarlane, Rory Fleming.
Girls: Ashley Irby (aquathlon only), Jessie Marshall (aquathlon only).
