Over 400 Athletes from 32 Nations Competing in Havana’s Triathlon

Argentinian Juan Manuel Asconape celebrates at the finish line as he wins the first place in the Ibero-American Triathlon Championship in Havana, on Jan. 25, 2015 | Photo: AF

HAVANA, Feb. 14th The stature of the triathlon continues to grow with more athletes and nations competing in this year’s race.

Nearly 410 athletes from 32 nations are competing in the Latin American Triathlon Championships in Havana, Cuba, according to to the vice presidents of the Cuban Sports Institute, Jorge Polo and Gladys Becquer. The games run through the weekend.

Alejandro Puerto, the president of Cuba’s sports federation, told the Prensa Latina last week that sportsmen will tour 7 municipalities of the island’s capital, starting at the Hemingway Marina and finishing the two-day event at Plaza de las Banderas in Malecon.

Cuba is pinning its slim hopes of victory on Leslie Amat, 23, who is ranked number 151 in the world in the women’s rankings, and Michel Gonzalez, 30, ranked 260 in the world among men.

The competition is comprised of races over three different distances, including a sprint (750m swim, 20km bike ride, 5km run), medium (1.9km swim, 90km bike ride, 21.1km run) and long course (3.8km swim, 180km bike ride, 42.2km run).

The number of athletes partaking in this year’s race show that the contest is growing in stature. Last year, in the first Havana triathlon, 372 athletes took part from 29 countries, with Argentine Juan Manuel Asconape scooping first place in the men’s race and American Renee Tomlin triumphing in the women’s contest.

Puerto confirmed earlier in January that athletes from Mexico, the United States, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Venezuela and as far afield as Kazakhstan will be in Cuba for this year’s competition.

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