McIntyre eyes Junior Worlds after Peru triumph

Leading junior triathlete Luke McIntyre returned to Barbados on Monday already focused on his next major challenge, the World Triathlon Junior Championships in Spain next month.

McIntyre was in top form on Saturday, winning the Junior Men’s race at the 2026 Americas Triathlon Junior Cup in Lima, Peru, after completing an elite two-week training camp in Paraguay.

The multi-talented athlete, who also won CARIFTA athletics gold in the 5 000m for Barbados in Grenada earlier this year, crossed the line in 58:26 minutes to defeat a highly rated field.

His performance drew congratulations from Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley via her Instagram account.

McIntyre described both the race and the training camp which preceded it as valuable experiences.

“I travelled by myself to attend a camp hosted by World Triathlon (in Paraguay), as a part of the Team Americas triathlon selection. Overall I had a good two weeks at the camp, training and learning.

“At the end of the camp we travelled to Lima, Peru and I managed to win the junior boys’ race there,” McIntyre recalled.

“Overall I’m extremely pleased with my performance, and I’m looking forward to more opportunities to represent Barbados and Team Americas in future triathlons, and right now I’m really looking forward to Junior World Championships at the end of September in Spain,” he added.

While no stranger to success, McIntyre has enjoyed a breakthrough year in the sport and hopes to maintain his consistency.

“Overall, right now I’m just enjoying my steady progression across all of my disciplines. Triathlon is not necessarily a sport about time. It’s more about position because every course is different, but it’s easily measurable by seeing my running improvements since CARIFTA and since the Barbados junior and senior national championships.”

McIntyre continued: “My times have been dropping and it’s giving me enough confidence to go overseas and compete in these races, knowing that I will do well.

“The last thing for my triathlon season will be the Junior World Championships in Spain, at the end of September. I would say that’s probably the thing that’s most on my mind right now, and then after that it’s building into the next season.”

McIntyre’s younger sister Laila has also been enjoying regional success. The CARIFTA 1 500m silver medallist is set to return to Barbados on Tuesday after winning another silver medal, this time at the Caribbean Junior Road Cycling Championships in Belize.

(KH)