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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
WITH just a month to go before the 2023 Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck takes place, event director Rick Fulton has said they are anticipating a bigger event.
The event is scheduled for April 1 at the Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga.
Already 25 elite athletes from countries such as Japan, Chile, Morocco, Togo, South Africa, Mauritius, Austria, Poland and the Netherlands have registered for the event.
The Africa Cup will run concurrently with the Africa Junior Cup.
Addressing the media during the launch yesterday in Harare, Fulton said the numbers on the start list are looking good.
“I am very happy to inform everybody that at this moment in time, more than 30 days away from the event, we already have 25 elite athletes registered for the event, seven juniors as well.
“And those 25 elite athletes constitute elite men and elite women who will be racing in elite level races and they represent 15 different countries at this moment in time.
“So the start list is looking very good for the event. We think it’s going to be a very good year, where we are going to have good numbers and as I said we still have got another 30 days before the event.
“And we know with our co-operation with Triathlon South Africa and the Namibian Triathlon Federation where we have subsequent events, one week and two weeks prior to Troutbeck, that a lot of these athletes are travelling to do all three of these events while they are in the Region.
“So this is a co-operation agreement with those two national federations which benefits all of our events because we can then make use of the events being in the Region and the athletes travelling in from these different countries,” said Fulton.
However, Zimbabwe do not have representation at the elite level this year but are hoping for good representation in Junior Africa Cup.
This year marks the 15th anniversary of the event.
It has over the years received support from various sponsors including title sponsors Coca-Cola Zimbabwe through their Bonaqua water brand, African Sun, CFAO Motors, Cimas, Rooney’s and EcoCash. And they are all part of this year’s edition.
“This is the 15th anniversary of running this event, 15 consecutive years as Africa Triathlon Cup. We have staged other events at the Troutbeck before that. But obviously the sequence of 15 years as a continental cup at that level is a great legacy for us.
“It is the longest standing event of this kind on the African continent which we are very proud of,” Fulton said. Frontline marketing manager Coca-Cola Zimbabwe, Faith Nehanda, said the professionalism displayed by Triathlon Zimbabwe is one of the reasons that inspires them to continue with the partnership.
“The Coca-cola company and our bottling partner Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited, through the Bonaqua brand, are proud to invest in sports.
“Our sponsorship and association continues to grow such that putting a monetary value to it might not do justice to the partnership.
“We love the triathletes’ essence as they compete with the spirit of enthusiasm, fairness and sportsmanship.
“One of the key reasons that inspires us to continue in this partnership is the professionalism exhibited by Triathlon Zimbabwe and the organisers of this action-filled sport.
“As the Coca-Cola company we believe sport is an essential part of our lives and as such we continue to support the growth and development of sport in Zimbabwe,” said Nehanda.
African Sun sales manager, Thamary Reppoh, shared the same sentiments.
“We always look forward to the event and it’s always a pleasure working with Rick and the rest of Triathlon Zimbabwe team. We always appreciate that they are very well organised and it’s actually a joy working with them.
“As a Resort, as African Sun, we are happy and we will continue working with Triathlon Zimbabwe and we are willing to go the mile for as long as the event is taking place.”
Shingirai Mazambani, brand marketing manager for EcoCash, said they are excited to be part of the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup for the second year running.
CFAO Motors Zimbabwe representative at the launch, Tammy Hein, said it has been a mutual partnership as they have also had support not only from the triathlon fraternity but also spectators and fellow sponsors.
Digital communication and public relations specialist for Cimas, Tapfumaneyi Mugari, said they are honoured to be participating in the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup.
Triathlon Zimbabwe president, David Ellis, expressed gratitude to the sponsors for the continued support.
Yesterday’s event began with a media workshop before the launch, with Fulton taking journalists through various aspects of the sport, including the history and the ranking system. Zimbabwe Olympic Committee president, Thabani Gonye, made a presentation on triathlon as an Olympic sport, describing it as a growing sport.
Other events on the day include the Zimbabwe National Championships, Bonaqua Cimas I-GO Corporate team triathlon and duathlon challenges, off-road triathlon, mountain bike events, youth-mini triathlon, aquathlon, duathlon, aquabike and Open water swim events
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