Nick Pilgrim is relishing the opportunity to test himself among the region’s elite triathletes at the Central American and Caribbean Games in El Salvador.

The 20-year-old is one of 31 athletes who will be taking to the start line in the elite men’s field over the Olympic distance, which is made up of a 1500-metre swim, a four lap 40-kilometre cycle an 10km run across the coastal region of La Paz today.

As well as having to contend with making the step up to a longer distance for the first time, the magnitude of the task in hand is also clear with the Bermudian athlete being seeded 28th among the starting field.

However, for Pilgrim, who heads into the Games on the back of being crowned national champion, it is a valuable opportunity to gain vital experience representing his country at a major international competition.

“This will be my first standard distance race and I’m also going to be one of the younger athletes among the field, so for me it will just be great experience to compete at the Games and see what I can do,” said Pilgrim, who claimed the national honours in a dominant display, albeit over the shorter sprint distance.

“I’ve had a really good block of training ahead of going off to the CAC Games, which will be Olympic distance, and so the national championships was a good warm up for that.

“It’s also special to represent Bermuda at an international event. It’s such a great feeling and I just love it.”