French duo sparkle at Rose Hall Triathlon

Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

France held pride of place in Montego Bay yesterday as defending champion Nicholas Becker and first-time entrant Elisabeth Mondon crowned themselves the male and female champions at the third staging of the Rose Hall Triathlon & Multi-sports Festival.

Like he did last year, Becker was dominant in the tri-dimensional event, sparkling in the 1,500-metre swim, 40-kilometre bike ride and a 10km to finish ahead of the Egyptian Omar Nour, the first triathlete from his country to make a mark on the international circuit.

"It was a very good event. The course was challenging and it was very hot out there, but I enjoyed the event nonetheless, and I am happy I won," said Becker. "I am already looking forward to defending my title next year."

Mondon, who has been quite dominant in the Jakes Triathlon in St Elizabeth in recent years, made her debut at Rose Hall a memorable one, dominating the female field to beat the highly rated American Alyssa Morrison into second place.

"It was very hot out there and some aspects of the event proved quite challenging," said Mondon. "I really like this event and I am definitely looking forward to coming back here next year."

As was the case in 2008 and 2009, Patrick Lee was again the best of the Jamaican participants, as he was the first local triathlete to cross the finish line.

"It is mostly a recreational thing for me, so I am naturally happy that I continue to do well," said Lee. "I love doing this, as there is also the whole matter of keeping healthy through all this swimming, biking and running."

Jamaicans dominate

In the sprint triathlon, which is shorter than the international standard, Jamaicans were the dominant participants. In the male section, Jamaica took first and second place as Sean Williams crossed the finish line ahead of Anthony Grannum.

"This is my first full marathon, so I am absolutely delighted that I did so well," said Williams. "It was a lot of hard work in terms of the hours of preparation, but it was worth it."

The United States' Astor Dapp was first across the line among the women, but second and third went to Jamaica through Sandra Russell and Ina Daley.

"I am pleased with the way things went today as I believe we are getting better and better with each staging," said Rayne Russell, CEO of Entertain Jamaica, the promoters of the event. "This year, we tried to give it a strong local flavour and I believe we have achieved our goal."

In a bid to ensure that the health and wellness component of the festival got maximum attention, a special seminar was held on Saturday, featuring some 50 high schools. The list of presenters included Olympian Dennis Johnson, Jamaica's international triathlete and Olympian Iona Wynter, and Vaughn Phang, president of the Jamaica Cycling Association.