admin
Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
TRIATHLON Zimbabwe have expressed their excitement for the future as they are scheduled to stage their first National Duathlon Championships next month in Harare.
The event titled, Zimbabwe National Duathlon Championships, will be held at Donnybrook Race Track on July 3.
Although they have had some duathlon events in the past, this is the first time the national association will be holding national championships specifically for duathlon.
Duathlon consists of running and cycling.
Triathlon Zimbabwe last year indicated that they were looking at growing their wings and duathlon was among the other areas they were looking at expanding.
Announcing the dates for the national championships, Triathlon Zimbabwe said they are excited to be holding the inaugural duathlon national championships.
“Duathlon consists of run — bike — run and is becoming more and more popular as a sport that we aim to promote during the winter months in Zimbabwe when it is too cold to swim!! “We are so excited to finally be able to stage a ‘stand-alone duathlon event’ and continue with our development plans for duathlon and aquathlon which are derivative multisport of triathlon.” Participants will compete in various age groups – 20 and over, juniors (16 to 19), racing over the sprint distance and youth (12 to 15). The sprint is made up of a 5km run, 20km bike and 2.5km run while the supersprint consists of a 2.5km run, 10km bike and 1.25km run. As duathlon is becoming popular, the national association is not just focusing on local events but also competing in regional and international competitions.
“Depending on the demand, we aim to also include the standard distance for age group athletes in the future.
“We also aim to have a strong national representation at other duathlon championships events regionally and internationally.”
With triathlon off-season, this also gives athletes something to look forward to.
For those selected to represent the country at the Africa Triathlon Championships, they can take advantage of next month’s event to assess their progress in terms of their cycling and running techniques.
The African Championships are due to take place from September 23 to 25 in Agadir, Morocco. Zimbabwe are set to field athletes in the Under-19 Sprint Ladies (Elite Junior), Under-17 Youth A Supersprint boys and girls, Under-15 Youth B Supersprint boys and girls.
The team is already in place.
There are also non-championships events included on the programme for the duathlon championships next month — du-tots, du-kidz, du-sports, du-fun and du-supersprint — individuals and team entries.
Online Reporter