Ellina Mhlanga Zimpapers Sports Hub
Triathlon Zimbabwe held their third selection race at the weekend with national coach Pamela Fulton thrilled to see most of their top junior and youth athletes making progress.
Athletes of different age groups converged at Mt Pleasant Pool with a number of events lined up including the youth and juniors third selection race.
Among the familiar faces that were on course, were Youth Olympic Games-bound Rachel O’Donoghue, Callum Smith, Zander Botha and Matthew Hildebrand in the junior category.
The selection events give the youth and junior athletes the opportunity to accumulate points that qualifies them for tours, mainly the South Africa Championships.
“Three races down and it’s encouraging to see our top juniors pushing each other to the line, raising the game and getting the best out of each other.
“It’s very exciting to see so many athletes trying out for selection in our youth category.
“It is evident our junior school series is working and paying off as well as our committed coaches, they are doing an excellent job supporting and encouraging these new athletes to compete,” said Fulton.
The youth section saw Alexis Beamish taking to the starting line as she continues building her ranking on the points’ table in the girls Under-15.
“We have a few new Under-13 boys competing with Dominic Bowl posting the fastest time this Sunday.
“Alexis Beamish once again is leading the girls Under-15 category with Bryce Cameron the fastest Under-15 boy on the day,” added Fulton.
So far, athletes that have competed and finished all the three races have three points – receiving one point for each race.
However, as the season progresses the points will start to increase for the top three across the line.
Away from the youth and junior athletes’ competition, the weekend’s line up also included the Schools Series.
Over 200 young aspiring triathletes drawn from Abbeys Preparatory, St Michael’s Presentation Primary, St John’s Preparatory School, Wise Owl Marondera, Bryden Country School, Harare International School, Maranatha Preparatory School and Springvale House.
The series is part of the national association’s development efforts and Triathlon Zimbabwe president Ross O’Donoghue was impressed with the turnout for the first race of the season.
“We also had our first school event of the season, and we had an unbelievable turnout. I think we had over 210 athletes competing, which has been fantastic,” said O’Donoghue.
The series consists of three races, and the next one is scheduled for November 22.
As the season progresses, O’Donoghue is hopeful of some close races as the youth and juniors push for points.
“In terms of our selection races, we have got some athletes who are performing very well.
“They have been coming up through the ranks over the years, and it’s great to see them. They look like they are very fired up to make it onto the team to go on tour to South Africa early next year.
“So, it’s great to see a good standard of racing,” O’Donoghue said.
