Josiah gives good showing at London Triathlon

Although he fell outside his target time of 1:08 hours in the recently-concluded AJ Bell London Triathlon, local triathlete Oein Josiah was still able to give a good account of himself at his biggest assignment to date. Posting a time of 1:15.01 hours and finishing 14th overall out of a field of 1 724 competitors, Josiah’s performance in unfamiliar conditions was made even more special by his third-place finish in the 25-29 age group.

 

The event, which came off last Saturday, is touted as the world’s largest triathlon. Of his experience, Josiah said that he enjoyed the entire trip but thinks that he could have done better. “I was hoping to do a bit better, but I am still thankful as I could have done worse. The swim went well and this was my first event where I was passing persons in the swim, so that was a boost for my morale. I came out the water in 128th,” he said. 

 

Noting that in the bike leg he worked along with another rider in a bid to pull each other along, Josiah said that together they were able to move up the ranks. “I came off the bike in a much better position than I went in. On the run, I continued to pass a lot of persons and I moved up from 50-something on the bike to 14th overall and third in my age-group.”

 

Prior to his trip, Josiah told The Barbados Advocate that he expected the swim to provide his biggest challenge, but the ride held the biggest surprise for him as the road featured some speed-breaks that he was not previously aware of. 

 

“The bike course was the biggest shocker of them all. For the swim, I wasn’t expecting Carlisle Bay, I was expecting cold and dark water and a rowdy swim and that was the actual case. I was expecting to get my wetsuit off fast, but I didn’t get it off as fast as I wanted to,” he said.

 

Josiah stated that it felt good to go up against some of the best riders in the world, but believes he still could have put in a better showing. “Europe is known for its cyclists and to be able to compete against persons of a certain calibre is great. I am satisfied with my performance, but I know within myself that it could have been better.”

 

With his sights now set on the Flow Energy Sunday, a duathlon set for September 25 in Trinidad and Tobago, Josiah is readying himself for nationals in October. He took the opportunity to show gratitude to Help 247, Forever Fitness Barbados and Lovemore Juice, who have assisted him on his journey thus far, as well as to his well-wishers, supporters, family and friends. (MP)