Three races, three wins: Young Carmel Valley triathlete sweeps Triple Crown Triathlon Series

At eight years old, Carmel Valley’s Abraham Sacal became just the second male in history to win all three youth triathlons in the San Diego Triple Crown Triathlon Series.

Competing in the Itsy Bitsy division, Abraham was the top finisher three times, in the Spring Sprint Triathlon in May, the Chula Vista Challenge in August, and the Mission Bay Triathlon last month, completing a 100-yard open water swim, a three-mile bike ride topped off with a three-quarter mile run.

The Sacal family had a trio of Triple Crown finishers this year, with dad Ari and 10-year-old brother Elías also completing the feat and earning the coveted Triple Crown medal holder.

Abraham’s is just the only one with three gold medals.

A third grader at Solana Ranch Elementary School, Abraham has been a recreational swimmer since he was five years old.

“First I was swimming, then I started to bike with my dad on Sundays during the pandemic and then I started to run with my soccer team,” said Abraham, who swims with the Barracudas at the La Jolla Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center and plays for the Legends FC in Carmel Valley.

He decided to take on the triathlon last year, inspired by his dad and older brother. “I felt kinda left out and I wanted to do it so badly,” he said.

“He couldn’t wait,” remarked dad Ari, who helped him train to race his first triathlon last October at age 7.

“I finished my first triathlon as a personal challenge and accomplishment, which then turned into a family affair, just to stay active together,” said Ari. “Watching Abraham, and his brother, take that spark and turn it into something this big has been incredible. His drive, his joy, and his passion inspire everyone around him.”

This year, Abraham wanted to go for the triple crown even though the first leg of the 2025 series was the Spring Sprint, scheduled on his eighth birthday. His parents suggested he could try another year but Abraham was determined—they even turned it into a birthday party with his friends signing up to compete too.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Ari gathered the kids to train in their community pool and teach about the transitions to biking and running. For his birthday, Abraham got a special triathlon suit and he and all his friends got cool sunglasses as party favors to wear on race day.

Waking up at 5 a.m. for the race seemed to be the most challenging part of the day for Abraham—he cruised to second place in the swim (confident that any sharks would avoid him in the open water because it was his birthday), stayed in second for the bike ride and took the lead in the run.

“I didn’t think I was going to get first place but then I just tried my best and got first!” he said.

In the Chula Vista Challenge, he was in the top three before surging to first at the end, shaving 10 minutes off his time from his first race with a personal best of 17 minutes and 7 seconds. In the Mission Bay Triathlon, he led almost the whole way, getting out of the water first and finishing strong on land.

“I think the hardest one was Mission Bay in October because it was crowded. And for a lot of people it was their first one and it was really tense,”  said Abraham, who comforted and encouraged another young competitor who was really scared and nervous before the start. His own nerves were calmed after seeing his dad take off on the other side of the bay and cheering him on before taking off on his open water swim and another gold medal day.

While not yet ready to try the tri, mom Esperanza was convinced to do a duathlon at one of the races. Ari said his wife “made it all possible,” managing all the early mornings, taking on the race-day logistics and, most importantly, providing “endless encouragement.”

With the triple crown accomplished, he doesn’t have plans yet for a repeat in 2026. Abraham is already moving on to his next goal, which he said is doing a triathlon in Texas. And getting faster.