Belizean triathletes and Ambergris Caye natives, Kian Trejo and brothers Brandon and Jordan Santos will be traveling later this month to Huatulco, Mexico, to compete in Olympics qualifiers being held by World Triathlon on Sunday, June 13, along with their coach Kent “Bob” Gabourel.
The trio will compete with about 70 other participants from around the world in sprint distance triathlon race that includes 750 meter swim, a 20K ride and then a 5K run. Kian Trejo said that the competition in Huatulco, Mexico will be fierce, with tough finish times to compete, but the trio has been training hard and is optimistic about their performance.
Trejo commented that the three of them are working on hitting their personal best records in preparation for the event. Their times are just a few minutes over an hour and anything under an hour in the event is a qualification tome for the Olympics. They remain positive that with their continued, dedicated training and tactical skills they will perform well at the event.
Trejo and the Santos brothers qualified to this meet by races they did in 2019 when they were initially trying to qualify to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics which will now be held in July and August. They made it to the podium in 2019 that added them to the Belize National Team. For this event they got accepted to compete through the International Triathlon Union (ITU) that had three slots open.
In the U23, Trejo was the winner, Brandon Santos was second and Jordan Santos was 3rd. In an international event, Gabourel, who is still active, won the Elite Category. A Guatemalan was second and Trejo was 3rd.
Trejo said the National Olympic Committee and the Belize Triathlon Association are sponsoring their trip. The Belize Triathlon team is leaving on June 8 for the event on June 13. They return on June 14.
Brandon Santos
Jordan Santos
Kian Trejo
