Bedford Girls’ School Swimming Coach Mr Castro claimed gold for a second consecutive year at the ETU Triathlon European Championships on Sunday (29^th May).

After winning the 25-29 male sprint race in Geneva last year, Mr Castro added a gold over the Olympic distance in the 25-29 standard race at the weekend in Lisbon.

Leading after the swimming leg, Mr Castro slipped to second behind his Great Britain team-mate, Daniel Bradshaw, during the bike section. This didn’t deter the Sussex-born triathlete, however, as he clawed back the deficit on the running leg, to win by more than a minute over the 32-mile course.

The 28-year-old’s European gold follows the silver and bronze medals he claimed at the 2015 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in the 25-29 Olympic and Sprint categories in Chicago last September.

Mr Castro said: “I was delighted to win European gold in Portugal. I managed to hold off Daniel for the majority of the bike section, until my bike chain came off towards the end of that leg, so I was forced to stop to sort it out.

“My running has really come on over the last year or so and this allowed me to stay calm and trust in my own ability during a vital last leg.”

Mr Catsro’s next big race will see him compete in the World Triathlon Grand Final again in Mexico in September.