Online Reporter
Zimpapers Sports Hub
IT was a tough outing for Zimbabwe’s triathlete Andie Kuipers, who was placed 31st at the 2025 Africa Triathlon Premium Cup Larache on Sunday in Morocco.
The continental Premium Cup attracted a strong field of elite women from across the world and Kuipers was the only African out of the 37 starters for the race.
The 23-year-old completed the race, 750 swim, 20km bike and 5km run, in 1 hour 12 minutes 27 seconds.
Of the 40 entries on the final list for the elite women, 37 were on the start line with 31 finishing the race.
Spain’s Marta Pintanel Raymundo won the race in 1 hour 2 minutes 23 seconds while Lilly-Marie Overberg from Germany came second in 1 hour 2 minutes 47 seconds.
Canada’s Isla Britton finished third in 1 hour 2 minutes 57 seconds.
It was Kuipers’ second race for the year, having competed at the Africa Triathlon Championships in April.
Speaking to Zimpapers Sports Hub ahead of the race, Kuipers had predicted a tough race; “There is a lot of strong Europeans coming to Morocco.
“It will be a good place to test myself at this level and see how my last few months of training have gone.
“I don’t really have any expectations going into this. I just want to give my best, hopefully get some good ranking points and just take some confidence in my training and in myself,” said Kuipers.
It was her first Premium Cup.
The Zimbabwean triathlete, now based in Kuwait, is looking at starting to accumulate points now with the aim of putting herself in a good position for bigger events.
Her ultimate goal is qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.
She believes laying the foundation now will be key in chasing her Olympic dream.
Speaking after their annual general meeting in Harare recently, Triathlon Zimbabwe president Ross O’Donoghue made it clear they would want to have a representative at the Games.
“We have obviously got Andie. Andie is currently training abroad.
“I speak to her maybe once a month just to see how she is doing. She is training hard. She is very focused on getting to LA28.
“So, we need to sit down as a board now and map out more of a plan for her,” said O’Donoghue.
Kuipers has represented the country at various competitions including the African Games. She got bronze at the 2019 Games in Morocco.
She remains one of the most promising triathletes at the elite level and is aware of the work ahead if she is to make the next edition of the Olympics.
Sunday’s event featured athletes from Canada, Guatemala, Denmark, Mexico, Spain, Cambodia, Germany, USA, South Korea, Canada, Italy, Argentina, Ireland, Hungary, Finland, Puerto Rico and Switzerland.
Peter Tanyanyiwa