Matthew Wirght, a triathlete from Barbados but who resides in the United Kingdom, did not hide his pride in being a Caribbean athlete who will be competing at the highest level of world sport.

Wright, bronze medalist in the last Central American and Caribbean Games, held in San Salvador in 2023, pointed out that this classification is thanks to his family, especially his parents, his fiancee and son, who are the most sacrificed.

In the announcement of the athletes who are scheduled for the next Olympic Games, Matthew Wright stands out, the second triathlete from his country to compete in the universal event, after a very coordinated competitive process together with his work team.

For Matthew, this qualification is a product of his maturity, after seeing how he could not reach the ticket for the Tokyo 2020 edition, where he thought he had it in his hands, but that an injury saw his aspirations away.

“I had a stress fracture right at the beginning of 2020, and then came the COVID. That stage helped me reflect a lot and learn from my mistakes,” he told Centro Caribe Sports for the HUELLAS project.

After meditating on everything that happened in the last Olympic cycle, Matthew and his coaching staff, organized what should be the best events to achieve the long-awaited ticket to the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.

“In triathlon the qualification period is two years and twelve competitions to add up enough points”, revealed the medalist of San Salvador 2023.

THE PRIDE OF BEING CARIBBEAN

During his conversation with Centro Caribe Sports, Matthew indicated that it has been a journey of many emotions to represent a small island but with warriors who leave everything in sports, so that the flag of his country is raised in major events.

He said that the medal of the Central American and Caribbean Games 2023, was one of the keys for him to be training today for Paris 2024.

“That was the first medal in a multisport event for triathlon in Barbados, and to see that the three medalists of those Games are qualified, speaks well of the quality of the region,” Wright said.

Aram Peñaflor and Crisanto Grajales, both from Mexico, won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the men’s individual event of the San Salvador 2023 triathlon.

Matthew took the opportunity to thank the support he has received from the local Federation and the Barbados Olympic Association, considering that he lives in the United Kingdom.

WHAT FAMILY MEANS TO MATTHEW

“I want to thank my parents, who have supported me since I was young, and to this I would like to add my fiancee and my six-year-old son, who have sacrificed a lot so that I could achieve what I have today (Paris 2024),” said an emotional Matthew while talking about his family.

He told that he has had to make very difficult decisions during this qualification process, the same that was short in relation to the other Olympic cycles, which were four years, but this one was only three because of the 2021 pandemic issue, with two years well loaded with international competitions, where he regularly had to travel from the United Kingdom to this continent.

“Being from Barbados, I have to travel a lot to this side of the world, because we have to compete in continental tournaments, and the Central American and Caribbean Games and the Pan American Games,” he revealed.

LEGACY, HAVE YOU BUILT IT?

Referring to Jason Wilson, the first triathlete from his country to qualify for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, Matthew indicated that being the second athlete of that discipline in an Olympic event, and if he wins a medal in the San Salvador 2023 Games, he believes that he has started a good path for the youth of Barbados.

“Getting to an Olympic Games can be impressive, but the most important thing is to see that you can inspire other kids to want to practice your sport and also be in a Games,” he confessed.

The Central America and Caribbean region will have nine triathletes from four Centro Caribe Sports member countries at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, including the following:

The men’s triathlon will be contested on July 30 at the Alexandre III Bridge, starting at 2:00 a.m. Barbados time (8:00 a.m. in France).

_{^{Written by Noel Werleman}}

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