Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE’S leading triathlete Andie Kuipers is next month set to line-up for the Africa Triathlon Sprint Championships in Mauritius as part of her campaign to chase qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
The qualification window opened on May 18, 2026, and will run until May 18, 2028.
Triathlon Zimbabwe vice president Pamela Fulton said the goal is for Kuipers to accumulate as many points as she can to build her ranking.
“So, it will be the Africa Triathlon Sprint Championships, Blue Bay, Mauritius, that’s for the elite, and then it will be a Cup event for the juniors.
“For Andie, the Olympic qualification period is now open. So, Andie’s goal is to, from now on, just continue to build her ranking as high as possible,” said Fulton.
Triathlon will contest three medal events at the LA28 Olympic Games — men’s individual, women’s individual and the mixed relay.
The total quota will be 110 athletes — 55 men and 55 women.
Eligibility can be attained through a variety of pathways, earning one of the 55 spots available for each gender.
“Obviously, she’s gearing up. Well, her way of getting to LA28 would be through the new flag system. And there’s two new flags this year for the first time.
“One is through winning the African Games next year.
“So, the federation that wins those games gets a slot and gets the new flag slot. But there’s a second option, (which) is also for the ladies in Africa with the highest ranking who does not qualify through the normal process or has not qualified through the African Games.
“So, there’s two opportunities. She would really want to try and win the African Games. But that’s obviously against South Africa and will be tough, but that’s possible depending on how she’s performing,” said Fulton, who is also the national coach.
“But she’s got to keep building that ranking to make sure that by the end of the process, she has the next highest ranking or the highest ranking.
“But also, the higher her world ranking is, if she gets to a certain level, that elevates you to be able to compete in bigger races where you can get more points.”
Kuipers will be joined by rising star Rachel O’Donoghue, who has been entered for the Africa Triathlon Junior Cup that will run concurrently with Sprint Championships.
For O’Donoghue, focus is more on development.
She is one of the juniors that had an outstanding 2025-2026 season that also saw her making her debut in the elite women at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup held at the Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga in March and winning a bronze medal.
“At the moment, Rachel is entered into the junior race, but we might elevate her to the elite race, to race with Andie.
“Well, I think she proved herself at Troutbeck competing in the elite category, so that really motivated her. We might elevate her to just see how she does here against the best sprint athletes in Africa.
“I mean, she is only 15 turning 16, so she is still really young. But I think the great thing about this is it’s the same distance.
“We obviously don’t want to push young athletes and burn them out too early. But because it’s the same distance that she would be racing in the junior category, we don’t feel that it would burn her out.
“But rather just more of a motivation going forward . . . see the levels she could reach,” Fulton said.
