Gaskin, Josiah dominate BFIT National Triathlon

National champions Oein Josiah and Zahra Gaskin stole the spotlight when the Barbados Federation of Island Triathletes (BFIT) held its 2025 National Championships on Sunday morning on the Mighty Grynner Highway.

In the Olympic Distance Race, which featured a 1500m swim, 40km bike ride, and 10km run, Josiah stamped his dominance with a commanding performance to capture first place in two hours, 33 minutes, and seven seconds (2:33:07).

Josiah’s balance across all three disciplines made him untouchable, finishing well ahead of Kamal Seale (2:47:33) and Jason Edwards (2:49:35), who both displayed grit and determination to finish second and third respectively.

On the women’s side, Gaskin was outstanding, clocking an impressive 2:33:14, just seconds off the men’s winning time. Janelle Clarke took second in 3:16:09, while Raquel Dowden placed third in 3:56:42 after a gutsy effort to complete the challenging course.

The Sprint Distance Race (750m swim, 20km bike, 5km run) saw an impressive showing from rising star Luke McIntyre, who stormed to victory in 1:04:12, ahead of Matthew Lashley (1:06:24) and Matthew Briggs-Legall (1:08:15).

In the female category, Alexis Lashley was in a class of her own, clocking 1:08:17 to secure first place, with Kristina Garcia (1:41:41) finishing second and Aderemi Soyombo (1:53:05) third.

The younger athletes also shone in the Super Sprint Distance Race (375m swim, 10km bike, 2.5km run). Zindzele Renwick-Williams blazed through the course in 34:18 to take the male title, followed by Sebastian Clarke (35:33) and Liam Beckles (36:27) respectively.

In the female division, Laila McIntyre, another young upcoming female athlete who also represents Barbados in swimming, delivered a standout performance, crossing the line in 34:57, with Tahira Fraser second in 41:14 and Victori Bourne third in a time of 42:11.

There was also a Mixed Team Relay, where the trio of Luke McIntyre, Matthew Briggs-Legall, and Laila McIntyre clinched gold. Darren Treasure, Alexis Lashley, and Matthew Lashley placed second, while Zachary Ladipo, Isabella Mayers, and Oein Josiah secured third.

(AS)