Jason Costelloe powered to top finishes in his two most recent events, winning the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) international triathlon in the Bahamas and placing third at the 28th annual International Barbados Triathlon.
On November 3, in the Bahamas, despite facing a number of uncertainties, Costelloe prevailed in the welcoming environment.
"With limited sleep the night before the race and lack of knowledge or experience of the course, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I didn't even know anyone present or anyone racing. Lucky the kind persons in Grand Bahama made me feel like I was home," said Costelloe.
"With all this uncertainty leading up, the only thing that I felt confident with, was the fact that I had no pressure to deal with and I was simply going out to have a great time and represent my sponsors (Beacon Insurance, GNC TT, Tridium Caribbean, VIE13) to the best I could. And I did just this."
From the start of the race, Costelloe was with the lead pack in the 1.5km swim before the from pace which included him distanced themselves from the field. They stayed side-by-side for the entire swim distance, but within the final 200 metres, the T&T athlete surged ahead to exit water first and took an early lead.
He explained, "With a quick transition, I got onto the bike and headed out for my strongest leg. I was not 100 per cent sure about the bike course but it seemed straightforward enough and surged right on. I quickly opened a sizable gap on the second place person as we ventured into the 50km bike course. Thankfully, the course had great volunteers to help guide me in the correct direction for the entire time. I held a very constant and surprisingly quick pace maintaining 25-plus mph for the entire ride. Onto the run and I was still feeling energised. This was far from how I was feeling just a few weeks prior in Barbados. I then kept up my pace onto the run and was motivated by the crowds and volunteers."
In Barbados on October 14, Costolloe was hoping to better his second-place performance from the 2017 Barbados triathlon event.
He said, "I had my sights set to take the win in the 2018 edition. This, however, was not to be the case and will just have to wait for another year and another chance."
Costelloe rated his performance over the Olympic distance in Grand Bahama event as one of his top three regional triathlons he has ever done.
He said, "I do hope that I will be able to go back and compete again. I also had the pleasure of racing along Hector Picard who has no arms, yet competes in triathlons, swim bike run and has even finished numerous Ironman triathlons. A true inspiration. With all this being said, I do hope to attend the Caribbean Long Course Triathlon Championships to be held in St Croix on December 2."