THE LONE WARRIOR
We hear the remarkable story of the Congolese triathlete, Miguel Masaisai, dreaming of becoming a tri world champ
Miguel Masaisai is the only triathlete in eastern Congo-Kinshasa, yet treacherous lakes, dangerous roads and a lack of equipment aren’t stopping him from dreaming of becoming a triathlon world champion. Here we chronicle his remarkable story of resilience…
Two young men in shorts and bright blue t-shirts rush down a steep slope, kicking up black dust as they turn a sharp corner and continue to the bottom of the hill. One by one, a group of men in their late teens and early twenties follows suit, panting and gasping for air. A few minutes later, the lead runners start running back up, their faces contorted in agony as they reach for the top.
Twenty-year-old Miguel Masaisai is only seconds after a gangly sprinter with a near-perfect stride. “Come on, all the way,” shouts a thin, elderly man as the two athletes reach the plateau halfway up the hill. The two guys grin as they sprint past the coach and come to a halt in the warm, volcanic sand.
“He’s our star,” beams the coach, Marius Assumani, as the shy Masaisai joins the group for burpees, push-ups and short sprints across the sandy plateau. It’s early evening in Goma, a bustling city on the border between Rwanda and CongoKinshasa (also known as the Democratic Republic of Congo). The sun’s rays cast a warm glow over the small sports field that sits above a busy roundabout only a few kilometres from the town centre. In the distance, the unmistakable outcrop of Mount Nyiragongo dominates the skyline.
Miguel Masaisai is the only triathlete in eastern Congo-Kinshasa, a region in Central Africa ravaged by decades of armed conflict, corruption and political instability. The law student first came in contact with the sport when MONUSCO, the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, organised a race. But with no training facilities, team or a coach, the young athlete has had a hard time learning the disciplines.
A runner from a young age, Miguel had no swimming experience and had never owned a bike. But he was determined to pursue the sport and started saving up to buy a second-hand racer. Working as a mason for five dollars a day, Miguel Masaisai scraped together $200 in less than two months. He was given an additional $300 from his parents and, with $500 in his pocket, he went across the border to Rwanda to buy a second-hand Trek bike. Spurred on by triathletes in the neighbouring country, he vowed to learn to swim 750 metres to be able to compete in an upcoming race. Last year, the Congolese athlete finished sixth at the African Triathlon Cup in Rwanda. “I love the sport and my
goal is to participate in major triathlon competitions in Africa and around the world, racing with great triathletes. I like to give everything of myself when everyone is tired,” he says.
BORDER CROSSINGS
Every Monday morning, Miguel Masaisai gets up at dawn to run 15km on the streets of Goma. He doesn’t have access to a running track and usually runs before motorcycle taxis, cars and UN vehicles cram the roads. “It gets quite busy and the traffic can be a real nuisance, especially when I’m on my bike. I don’t have a choice but to cycle up and down the same roads. On Wednesdays, I try to do at least two hours of cycling and I do four hours on Fridays. I train seven days a week,” he says.
Three times a week, Miguel swims in Lake Kivu, one of Africa’s Great Lakes. The vast lake lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and swimming here can be treacherous. “The water can be very choppy and there’s a risk of drowning. But I don’t have the means to pay for the swimming pool,” says the young athlete.
With a land mass two-thirds the size of western Europe (it’s the 11th biggest country in the world), the Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of the poorest countries in the world. There are few paved roads outside major towns, corruption is rife and the country is still recovering from a series of conflicts that broke out in the 1990s. The contrast to neighbouring Rwanda is startling. Rwanda’s eastern shores of Lake Kivu are lined with smooth, tarmac roads that are ideal for road cycling. “I sometimes go across the border to train with a Rwandan team, but for the moment the border is closed because of the coronavirus pandemic,” says Miguel.
We meet up with Miguel on a Wednesday, just as he’s about to head out for a two-hour bike session. He tucks his phone away and heads out into the traffic. We hop on two motorbike taxis and follow him as he cycles up and down the town’s few paved roads, whizzing past the blue and white UN base tasked with keeping the peace in eastern Congo.
The blue-clad cyclist weaves in and out of traffic, overtaking lorries that spew black smoke. He has to concentrate hard not to hit a speedbump or a pothole. Black lava coats the dirt roads and along the pavements are piles of black pebbles that are used as building material. The volcanic rock comes from the eruption of Mount Nyiragongo – still an active volcano – in 2002.
DEDICATED TO SPORT
The lack of training facilities isn’t the only obstacle for the young triathlete. Gear is another
“Miguel Masaisai doesn’t have access to a running track and usually runs before motorcycle taxis, cars and United Nation vehicles cram the roads”
challenge. Despite its size, Goma has few specialised sports shops. Triathlon is virtually unheard of in the Congo, and the chances of finding equipment such as wetsuits, glasses, gloves and sports watches at the local markets are pretty slim. Miguel Masaisai bought a pair of second-hand cycling shoes but says he cannot afford to buy a wetsuit.
“I don’t have anyone who supports me apart from my parents. It was very difficult to find the money to buy a bike, even with their help,” he says. We join him the next day for a hill repeat session with Mangwele athletics team. Twice a week the young triathlete runs with the group up the steep hill overlooking Lake Kivu and the mountain range on the other side.
The dusty playing field where the club has its headquarters is located near an army camp.
A drunk soldier wearing army fatigues, a sleeveless t-shirt and an orange beret approaches the coach and starts arguing. “You must pay us,” says the intoxicated soldier. But after a short dispute, he walks off and leaves the athletes to continue their practice.
The coach shrugs his shoulders. “We want to give these kids something to do,” he says. “Sports is very positive, but there are few opportunities for
young people to reach their potential. Most of these soldiers never finished school.”
Miguel Masaisai grew up with three sisters and a brother in the Virunga district in Goma. He studied literature at school and after graduation he enrolled as a law student at the University of Goma. Now he combines his studies with his efforts to become a triathlon champion. “Before, I mainly did sport for health reasons and my focus was on my studies, but today I dedicate my life to sport. I’m very committed,” he adds.
CHAMPION DREAMS
Training facilities in Goma – and elsewhere in eastern Congo-Kinshasa – are a far cry from the opportunities offered in Europe. There are no public swimming pools, outdoor gyms or accessible sports fields. Running tracks and tennis courts are often privately owned, and the majority of Congolese cannot afford to pay the fees. The Mangwele athletics club is one of few places that is open to youth from a disadvantaged background. Apart from the athletics training, the club also has a basketball team and offers other sports. Yet running remains at the heart of the club’s activities. Miguel, who is clearly one of the club’s most successful athletes, has been running since an early age. He says that running is still his strongest discipline. “I didn’t have the technique to swim and I also never had a triathlon coach. But after watching the MONUSCO Triathlon I became fascinated with the sport,” he says. Swimming remains a struggle, continues Miguel. He still doesn’t have a coach to teach him the right technique. But he’s determined to make it, even if he has to go it alone.
“My family are very supportive and they help motivate me in difficult times,” he says.
With his racing bike and eye-catching triathlon suit, Miguel Masaisai has become a well-known figure in Goma. He greets some guys who are hanging around by the busy roundabout near the running club’s headquarters. When they spot our cameras, two of them start hassling us for money. Miguel Masaisai tries to negotiate with them in a local language, and eventually hands them a few hundred Congolese Franc to leave us alone.
Tourists are rare in eastern Congo. Goma is beautifully situated on top of Lake Kivu, surrounded by the volcanic mountains that are home to the mountain gorillas. Visitors can climb to the summit of Mount Nyiragongo and see a boiling lava lake, spot bonobos and okapi – two rare species not found anywhere else in the world. But Congo remains an undiscovered tourism destination and most overseas visitors are NGO workers or people affiliated with one the UN agencies.
Miguel Masaisai hopes that DRC will one day not only be associated with wars, Ebola and impenetrable jungle, but also as a country that produces world-class triathletes.
“I want to be an ambassador for the sport and coach young triathlon lovers across the country. My dream is to become a great champion, first of Africa and then the world.”
“I want to be an ambassador for the sport and coach triathlon lovers across the country. My dream is to become a great champion”