Home|Sports|Duncombe, Roach win national triathlon titlesSports
Simba FrenchSend an emailMay 9, 2023 120 2 minute readFacebookTwitterLinkedInShare via Email
Already set to represent The Bahamas at the Commonwealth Youth Games this summer, Launy Duncombe and Kami Roach powered their way to win the Bahamas Triathlon Association (BTA) National Triathlon titles at Goodman’s Bay on Sunday.
It was the final CARIFTA triathlon qualifier and the CARIFTA team will be ratified at a later date. The association also hosted its aquathlon championships on Saturday. The final CARIFTA qualifier for that event is set for later this month.
Duncombe, who trains on Grand Bahama, said he was happy to finally get the win. The Goodman’s Bay course is the same course that will be used for the upcoming CARIFTA Triathlon and Aquathlon Championships.
“It feels good. I am not used to it. I usually come second or third. It feels good because my training led me to victory,” Duncombe said. “I liked the cycling course the most and I did not like the swim course too much. I really enjoyed the cycling course because it was flat, fast, and technical, and I like courses like that. I was by myself, and I did not have to worry about anyone messing me up with turns and I was able to go at my own pace. The running course was good, and I was able to come out on top.”
Finishing second was Cameron Roach and coming in third was Simone Bertoldo.
It was a windy morning on New Providence and, according to BTA President Dorian Roach, they had to change the swimming portion of the course. He said he was proud of the accomplishments of the participants.
“It was great to see our younger guys like Duncombe, Malcolm Menzies, Ayden Bain, Kami Roach do well. I was very pleased with them, and it was the first time we had used the course. We have some kinks to work out. There is a lot of logistics to work out because there is traffic and other moving parts, but we will be ready for CARIFTA,” said Roach.
In the women’s category, Kami Roach came out on top to secure the national title.
“It feels great to get the victory. The swimming was rough, but the run was good,” she said. “Coming into the race, I just wanted to do my best and do good. I have CARIFTA and Youth Commonwealth Games for cycling, so it was a good to win.”
Suzy Eneas placed second in that division and Sylvia Bateman was third.
In the 16-19 boys division, Barron Musgrove Jr. came out victorious. Enea Gervasini and Jason Cates were second and third, respectively. Sienna Culmer-Mackey won the title in the 16-19 girls division.
Malcom Menzies held off Ayden Bain and Lenin Hamilton to win the 13-15 boys division. Bain was second and Hamilton was third. On the girls side, Issa Bournas won that division. Taylor Knowles was second and Emma Barigelli finished third.
Lauchlan Menzies came out on top in the 11-12 boys division. Sibby Potter was second while Mathis Bournas was third. Naia Belton won the 11-12 girls division. Taylen Nichols finished second and Veranique Strachan finished third.
In the 9-10 division, only the boys were in action. Winning that division was Fraser Menzies. Stafford Sweeting and Lyall Menzies were second and third, respectively.
The final qualifier for CARIFTA Aquathon is the Beautiful Bahamas Aquathon on May 20 at Betty Kelly-Kenning National Swim Complex.