Barbadian Cain Banfield shines at the USA Triathlon Nationals

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Barbadian triathlete Cain Banfield posted an exceptional performance as he competed in the USA Triathlon Nationals on August 4th in Milwaukee USA.

In a field of the top 72 youth triathletes (ages 13-15) in North America, Cain, recorded his best race of the season.

The event consisted of a 375-metre swim, a 10-kilometre ride and a 2.5-kilometre run.

Going into this race ranked 26th overall, Cain was looking forward to the challenge of improving on that ranking.

The race venue was in downtown Milwaukee, with the swim taking place in Lake Michigan. The run and ride course was flat and scenic with the lake on one side, and skyscrapers on the other.

Cain started the race with a bang, and although not accustomed to the chilly water (69.5 degrees Fahrenheit) he quickly found himself at the front of the field after a great start and ended the swim leg in second place with a time of 5:06.

He quickly transitioned onto the bike and formed a small group of 4 riders to tackle the 10-kilometre ride.

Cain was again strong on this leg and finished the bike portion in 15:26, and entered transition 2 just 2 seconds being the leader.

After another quick transition, Cain started his run in 3rd position overall but had a pack of 11 guys only 12 seconds behind.

Although Cain had his best run of the season (9:34) he lost 7 positions over the 2.5k run course and finished in 10th place overall with a time of 31:57 seconds.

Cain has expressed gratitude to his coaches, Dave Farmer from Pirates Swim Club, Sedwin Jones from Sonics, Althea Belgrave of Elite Distance Program and Darren Treasure of BFIT.

He said that without the love of friends and family, and support from BFIT and the BOA, his participation and performance at the event would not have been possible.

Cain will now take a day off to recover but will be back to full training next week as he sets his sights on the Carifta Triathlon being held in the Bahamas on August 26.

PHOTOS: Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT)