World Triathlon

Last week in Managua, Nicaragua was the site of intense sport development work organized by the ITU and the Pan American Triathlon Confederation (PATCO).

A total of 16 prospective technical officials gathered at the Olympic Committee of Nicaragua to attend the Technical Officials Community Course in which they received basic information to officiate national events in their countries.

Although most of the officials were from Nicaragua, participants also hailed from Costa Rica, Brazil and Guatemala, showing interest from those involved with sports activities.

The course was delivered by Mexican facilitator Felix Molina and coordinated by Gustavo Svane, who instructed the participants on preparation skills prior to an event, common practices in the different parts of a competition and rules fundamentals.

The attendees showed great enthusiasm, and even though some of them had little knowledge on triathlon, all of them were interested in learning the clear and detailed information given by Felix.

On Sunday morning, a sprint event was held for the participants to put into practice all they had learned during the course. The venue was the Xiloa Park, about 18km away from Managua, which proved to be an excellent choice taking into account its attractive natural surroundings, lush vegetation, and a beautiful lagoon inside the crater of a volcano.

A total of 40 competitors, adults and kids, participated of the race. The Nicaraguan athlete Francisco Lopez, who will represent his country in the Pan American Games in Guadalajara, also went to the event.

When the race finished, there was a prize ceremony carried out. Local people sang the national anthem and Antonio Silva, President of the Federation, thanked the ITU and PATCO for having chosen Nicaragua to hold this course which will promote the growth of triathlon in his country.