NEWS

Ecuadorians Defend their home in the American Triathlon Cup in Salinas

By Eduardo Roe | 16 Apr, 2015

Ecuador hosted the American Triathlon Cup on the beaches of Salinas.

Representatives from 15 countries in Africa, Asia and America, met in Salinas for the competition which gave points for the Pan American Games in Toronto. The race was a standard distance consisting of 1,500 meter swim, 40 km bike and 10 km run.

In women, local Elizabeth Bravo, won the gold medal after crossing the finish line in 2 hours, 6 minutes and two seconds. Result that gives a direct ticket to the Pan-American appointment in Canada.

In men, Brazilian Manoel Messias took the first place. Second and third were the Ecuadorians Juan Andrade and Armando Matute, respectively.

“The level of race was excellent, to the point that Huffman from North America, who departed with the number 1 as favorite to the top ranked worldwide, ended up in the fifth position. He lost with Messias, Andrade and Matute, the last one is a Junior who has been performing excellent y very good results. We are delighted because with this results we are classifying with five athletes to Toronto, “said President of the Ecuadorian Federation of Triathlon, Julio Ramirez.

Ramirez also was pleased by the support he received from government agencies and volunteers, so the competition was a success: “The sister of President came to the event. People came from all over to watch the race. A special gratitude to the leaders, technicians and athletes, who came from the fraternal countries, because they allowed us to make an extraordinary competition, which makes me very happy. I feel very calm because we could take good care of visitors, despite of the economic difficulties. Everything we did for our country and we are proud for that. We are proud that Ecuador could deliver a helping hand to countries that visited us “

Among the guests of honor at the American Cup in Salinas, was the President of the American Triathlon Confederation, Antonio Alarco, who enjoyed the excellent organization of the event, which according to Julio Ramirez says “there was not a fallen person, not an accident, there was no appeal, no complaints “

On the organizational side, Ecuador showcased in the best way, thanks to the support of volunteers, the Navy, the authorities and the municipality. Entities who have believed in the leadership of the Ecuadorian Triathlon, which received the highest praise from athletes from different countries: “We have heard from the athletes that this was one of the cups with better organization and that pleases us,” declared the king of the sport in Ecuador.

Besides International Cup on Saturday, 240 national athletes gathered at the National Age Group Championships, with participants between 11 and 50 years old.

Now, Ecuador will continue organizing more continental competitions.