The Lionman triathlon goes for its ninth running this weekend. The event has morphed from a rustic home grown event to an efficiently managed and lucrative race that matches international distances and standards. And more than that, now the competitors are also international. This year, the reigning champion Jose Xol is coming from Guatemala. He will join competitors from Germany, USA, and the UK. So while past champions like Hubert Johnson, Smokes Gladden and the most recent Belizean champ Jose Choto will be racing – it will be about catching the Guatemalans. One of the race organizers David Gomez told us more when we met him today at the Sandlighters’ Promenade which will be the setting for the event.
Jules Vasquez,
Last year was won by a Guatemalan in convincing, resounding fashion. What can we expect this year?
David Gomez, Organizer
“I think unless Belizean athletes put in a lot of work this year we can expect the same level of competition from the international athletes. But having said that, I think we have seen from previous winners of this Lionman triathlon a lot of dedication, a lot of work, and preparation for this year’s event.”
Jules Vasquez,
Have the Chotos indicated if they will participating? I know the oldest one Jose had told me would need to stop focusing on the triathlon and focus on cycling.
David Gomez,
“It is quite demanding but I understand from the Chotos, from their corner, that an offer has been put on the table for them and they’ve been in heaving preparation for this event so what they’re saying, their sponsors are saying go and beat last year’s winners and you will get a bonus of so much for this year’s event so I understand the guys have been training very hard in Cayo.”
Jules Vasquez,
Explain what you all have done to encourage people to come out there and that they will have something to see.
David Gomez,
“Well we’ve done a couple of things. One what we’ve done is that if you look at the course, we’ve drawn the swim part of it closer into shore so that people have a better opportunity to see more of the athletes as they go around the course. What we’ve also done on the bike and run segment is to bring the race into town, keep it within the city limits and then have the athletes go through a number of circuit laps so the spectators get to see them more often going through the transition area.”
The Lionman triathlon runs on Sunday, September 8th.
