Colombian wins Havana Triathlon for second consecutive year

Colombian Carlos Quinchara won the Havana Triathlon for the second consecutive year on Sunday, in what has become one of the most important meetings for the sport in this region.

Quinchara won the gold medal in 55 minutes and 29 seconds by sprinting the last few meters of the running segment to relegate his Portuguese competitor, Alexandre Nobre, to second place.

In the event, the competitors swam for 750 meters, cycled through the streets of Havana for 20 kilometers and ran for 5 kilometers.

With this victory, the Colombian athlete adds 200 points to his world ranking.

"The most important thing is that I was able to repeat and win the title in a circuit that is very fast. This year was a bit tighter as the competitor from Portugal was also pushing very hard to win," Quinchara told Xinhua after winning the event.

Quinchara said that taking part in the third edition of the Havana Triathlon is part of his preparation for next year's Caribbean and Central American regional games to be held in his home country.

On Sunday, 33 men and 19 women were looking to add points to their worldwide triathlon rankings.

The countries most represented in the competition were the United States, Cuba, Mexico, Canada, France, Colombia, Spain, Italy and Panama.

"From one year to the next, participation has almost doubled. I think we have grown in organizational capacity as well. Our goal is to position this event as one of the best in the world," Alejandro Puerto, president of the Cuban Triathlon Federation, told Xinhua.

Doing so will be vital to Cuba's aim of hosting one of the phases of the Triathlon World Cup in 2019. Endit