Josiah eyeing London triathlon

Local triathlete Oein Josiah will be taking on his biggest race to date when he represents the island in the AJ Bell London Triathlon. 

 

Leaving the island tomorrow for his first-ever trip to Europe, Josiah will be hoping to be in the same form which saw him winning the Massy Rainbow Cup in Tobago just last month.

 

In an interview with The Barbados Advocate, Josiah said that training had been going well and that his main focus at present was acquainting himself with swimming in a wetsuit. Noting that due to the major temperature difference, a wetsuit was necessary for the swim. Josiah went on to say that it was very different to regular swim gear and that he has been training in the new outfit.

 

Posting 1:09 hours in last month’s event in Tobago, Josiah said that he fancied his chances of doing well in what is the world’s largest triathlon. 

 

“I did some research and I know what the expected temperature is. I know what to expect as it relates to the competition level; I have compiled the past few years’ results and just tried to compare myself with them just to see how I should stack up. Every year it seems to fluctuate drastically. I used one of my best triathlons which was in Tobago last month and I compared it to the times that they had for last year. I did 1:09 and the winner last year did 1:09 as well in London, so it is relatively close,” he said.

 

Stating that the London route was a relatively flat course with some slight inclines, Josiah also said that last month’s win was very important as it boosted his confidence level since he was able to perform a time close to what last year’s winner did in London in a more challenging environment; Tobago is hotter and has more hills.

 

With Richard Perkins also flying the ‘Broken Trident’ in the event, Josiah is aiming for 1:08 hours and said his main concern was the swim because of the aggressive nature of the start. 

 

“I’m just praying and trusting God that I have a good race start and good swim and from there, once I get out of the water, which is not my strongest point, then I will be able to try to do some grinding on the bike and just stretch my legs for the run and see how fast I can go,” he said.

 

Josiah took the oppor-tunity to thank Lovemore Juices, Help 247 and Forever Health for supporting him in his endeavours thus far. (MP)