Renee Chin Lee and Nicholas Mitchell both gave battling efforts in their first ITU Race and finished 45th and 57th respectively at the Pan American Triathlon Junior Championships in Vila Velha, Brazil, yesterday. Both were nominated by the Trinidad and Tobago Triathlon Federation (TTTF) for the Championships after qualifying earlier this year.

According to reports coming out of Brazil, the water was incredibly choppy for the swimming stage and after the 750m swim, it was a short distance into the transition onto the bike with a 20km ride. Rules require that one must not get “lapped” by the first rider or the athlete is forced to retire.

Chin Lee and Mitchell, competitors in last weekend’s Rainbow Cup in Tobago, both made it through the ride but Mitchell was involved in a mishap.

The Rainbow Cup Sprint distance champ was involved in a bike spill that cost him some time. He recovered well though and completed the 5km run to cross the finish line in a time of 1:09.56. Mitchell’s preparation for the Championships was affected as he was sitting his CXC Exams and had little time to train and in fact had to turn down some earlier ITU Races he was originally carded for.

Chin Lee, who also had CXC Exams, was facing the same predicament of coordinating school and sports but performed admirably to clock a time of 1:21.00.

Their next task now will be to grab the national titles on July 21 in Chaguaramas, where the National Triathlon Championships will take place.

Mitchell, 18-years-old, has been dominating the local triathlon scene this year and is hoping to dip below one hour in the Sprint distance.

He first got involved in competitive running before being introduced to swimming in 2005. Since 2009 he has made a leap forward, qualifying for the Goodwill Swim Team in Barbados and later captained the team.

In 2012 he qualified for the CISC Swim Team, while his transition to a triathlete had already started.

Chin Lee, coming from a background of aquatics, was a competitive swimmer and water polo player for several years, and represented Trinidad and Tobago on national water polo teams since 2007. Her interest in triathlon grew out of her search for new challenges, and her keen focus and determination have seen her rise to the top of this sport nationally. On her very first outing to the Neal and Massy Rainbow Cup in Tobago last year, she placed third overall among the female in the Sprint distances, and topped the 16-19 age group. Possibly one of her biggest achievements, however, has been to foster the growth of the sport of triathlon among young female athletes. An accomplished student, Chin Lee is a recent graduate of St Joseph’s Convent, Port-of-Spain, and will head off to the prestigious University of Pennsylvania in August to study industrial engineering. She was a member of the St Joseph’s Convent Triathlon Club which boasts close to 20 members currently.

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