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Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
EVENT director for the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck Rick Fulton has underscored the importance of the continental events for athletes seeking to graduate to the next level of the sport.
This year’s event is due to take place on April 1 at the Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga.
Fulton said the continental cups introduced to help athletes earn points within the ranking system are vital for young athletes that want to make a headway in the sport and competing at the Olympic Games.
“In 2007 World Triathlon started this generation of continental Cups as part of the development programmes to develop athletes so that they could earn points within their ranking system.
“So these events are very important for these young athletes to make headway as they begin their careers and launch and to hopefully, ultimately (reaching) the Olympic Games.
“In 2007 there were four of such similar events on the African continent and in 2023 there are now 50 continental cups. So the growth across the continent has been exponential.
“But Troutbeck has been since day one, which we are very pleased about,” said Fulton.
Fulton added that is it encouraging to see some of the athletes that have competed at Troutbeck making it to the Olympics.
The Troutbeck event is the longest standing on the African continent.
“It is the longest standing event of this kind on the African continent which we are very proud of.
“And as matter of interest we noticed that at the Tokyo Olympic Games for the triathlon in 2021, there were 10 men and six women, on the start list of the Tokyo Olympic triathlon who all raced before, at Troutbeck.
“So the pathway for these athletes, a lot of them have been through Troutbeck and have used it at their development pathway in the Olympic movement.
“And to have that amount of athletes at one Olympic Games that have been here at Troutbeck in previous years, some of them are previous winners, is a great legacy and says a lot for this event.”
The event is part of the 2024 Olympic cycle qualification process as athletes earn points for the ranking system. But with most of the young athletes starting out on their Olympic dreams, Fulton noted that they were probably targeting the 2028 Olympics.
For the local athletes, it’s an opportunity for them not only to compete at a world class venue but also to be inspired by the elite athletes that come from round the globe.
“And from a Zimbabwean perspective it gives all of our athletes, our recreational age group athletes, the opportunity to race at a world class venue, at a world class event.
“And they can be exposed to watching these athletes, youngsters can be impressed and be influenced and impressed by the performance of these incredible elite athletes on what is a very tough course at 2000m, hilly and at altitude,” Fulton said.
So far 25 elite athletes — men and women, from 15 countries have registered for this year’s Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup. This year marks the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the event.
It has become a multi-sport festival with various other events taking place on the day and it will 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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