193rd in the World! Bajan triathlete Wright wins gold in Jordan Loop Barbados

Black Immigrant Daily News

Barbados’ Triathlete Matthew Wright has come out on top to nab the gold medal in Jordan to make history for Barbados and himself.

The previously 308th-ranked athlete on the World Triathlon rankings jumped 115 places to 193rd with this monumental win on the world stage. Wright was very impressive in the 5th Aqaba Asian Cup held in Jordan on Saturday, October 1, 2022.

The event which comprised a pool of 52 triathletes from across the world, started at the B12 Beach Club in Aqaba with a 1500-meter swim. Wright exited the water in 6th position with a swim time of 18 min 44 sec, just 4 seconds behind the leader Maciej Bruzdziak from Poland, in a time of 18:44 minutes where he slotted himself into the 15-man lead pack of the 8-lap, 40 km bike leg. With 2 laps to go, Wright and training partner Lestyn Harrett from Great Britain, attempted to make a break away from the pack, eventually opening a 10-second gap at one point. This effort proved futile however, Wright dismounted the bike in 4th place, clocking the 3rd quickest bike split in a time of 1 hr 1 min 55 sec, and quickly transitioned to enter the 10km 4-lap run in second place.

Matthew Wright on bike in triathlete in Jordan

A group of six quickly formed during the first 2.5km lap on the run however, led by the strong pace of Harrett, the group whittled down to just four by lap two, with Harrett, Wright, Jason Tai Long NG of Hong Kong, and Cedric Osterholt of Germany. The rapid pace and increasing heat led to Tai Long NG dropping back, leaving training partners Wright and Harrett to battle for the win. After multiple attacks trying to break each other on the last lap, the two athletes who train at the National Triathlon Performance Centre in Cardiff, Wales, were only split by a hair. With 250m to go, Wright landed the killer blow, opening up a 10m gap on Harrett, and sprinted to the line to take the gold with a run time of 30 min 51 sec and a total time of 1 hour 51 minutes and 16 seconds with Harrett and NG, taking second and third place respectively.

Triathlon in Jordan podium – Great Britain Barbados Hong Kong

Wright, Barbados’ top triathlete, has been a constant fixture on the triathlon circuit racing with the best of the best triathletes from across the world for the last few years. So this first-place finish coming off a commendable 17th-place finish at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Wright has finally made his breakthrough at a World Triathlon event.

Wright has expressed his thanks for the support received from the Barbados Olympic Association, The Arts and Sports Foundation, and the Barbados Federation of Island triathletes, for making the races and performances possible.

It will now be a quick turnaround for Wright as he prepares for a second Asian Triathlon Cup in Sarmakand, Uzbekistan this weekend Saturday, October 8.

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