admin
Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
TRIATHLON Zimbabwe national coach Pamela Fulton says it takes commitment and dedication to make the elite level as the sport is demanding.
Zimbabwe successfully hosted the 15th edition of the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck over the weekend but had no representation in the elite men and women categories.
The hosts pinned their hopes on the juniors that competed in the Africa Junior Cup to do well but they found the going tough.
The Africa Cup runs concurrently with the junior event.
“Our problem has always been to keep our athletes in the sport once they leave school because they go overseas to university or leave the country.
“And it’s really hard for them to stay in the sport which is three disciplines; three sports in one.
“So that lane is hard and now (they) are leaving home for the first time, university in a completely new country. So always, over all these years to get any elite athletes it’s really tricky,” said Fulton.
Fulton, who is also Triathlon Zimbabwe vice-president said it takes commitment and dedication to reach the elite level.
“It comes down to those absolutely committed, dedicated ones. Like we have Andie (Kuipers) at the moment going to university specifically for triathlon. But a lot of them go for academic purposes.
“And we had Chris Felgate years ago, he managed to go to university, first stay in the sport as an age-grouper not going elite and then once he finished university, then he came back and raced elite.
“So it is very hard to do elite and university, and everything in one go. So we have resigned ourselves to the fact that the junior area is the area we need to focus more on because it takes that one unique athlete like Andie, who is dedicated to continue, as I have said after schooling,” said Fulton.
Fulton said if they could have a bigger base it would help. However, they have tried to engage schools for partnerships and there hasn’t been much interest.
“I am not sure whether it’s a safety aspect on the bike that they don’t like, or whether they reckon it’s too expensive a sport. But you can start triathlon with a simple mountain bike, you don’t have to go expensive.
“And it’s only the athletes that really love the sport and really aspire to go and represent the country. They are the ones that need to spend all their money on the bikes.”
The Troutbeck event attracts athletes from across the world and South Africa’s Dylan Nortje, who came second in the elite men, said it is a stepping stone for junior athletes as well.
“It’s just great, like being able to race and see the juniors. It just gives our juniors, Zimbabwean and South African juniors as well as the Namibian juniors a stepping stone to race out of the country . . . Instead of sending them over to Europe, we send them only a thousand kilometres from home where they can learn those crucial experiences before they do the 6000km to Europe.
“So I think it is an amazing event…it has been on for 15 years and I hope it goes on for another 150 years,” said Nortje.
He acknowledged the sponsors of the event for their support as he said it’s nice to race closer home.
Coca-Cola Zimbabwe through their Bonaqua water brand are the title sponsors, and have been joined by African Sun, CFAO Motors, Cimas, Rooney’s, EcoCash and Simbisa Brands to support the event.
Coca-Cola frontline marketing manager, Barry Otieno said their desire is to develop sport locally and at the global stage.
“As Coca-Cola and our bottling partner Schweppes Zimbabwe, we desire to see sports develop on the local and global stage.
“For this reason, we have been supporting this race for more than half a decade now through our Bonaqua still water, a trusted brand that has been voted as the number one bottled water in Zimbabwe,” said Otieno.
Online Reporter
dyton mupawaenda