KUIPERS STAYING POSITIVE
ANDIE Kuipers is hoping to build on her performance at the 2024 Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup as she shifts her focus to the next events, which include the African Games.
Kuipers was the country’s sole representative in the elite category at the 16th edition of the event held on Saturday at the Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga.
She came fifth in the women’s section with a time of 1hour 19minutes 31seconds.
The race consists of a 750m swim, 20.33km bike and 5km run.
“The first race of the season is always, I don’t know, it’s hard to perform at your best in the first one. So I will take confidence from this race.
“But also, I need to work on a lot of things.
“But I am only in my eighth week of training, so I have a lot of improvement to make even though I am pretty satisfied with where I am.”
The 21-year-old is one of the four triathletes that will be part of Team Zimbabwe for the African Games.
The other three are Lorna Doorman, Rohnan Nicholson and Callum Smith.
Kuipers is chasing qualification for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and is hoping to get more points at the African Games.
“African Games is like my main aim, so, I will train hard…I didn’t really rest for this race and I won’t rest for South Africa.
“But I will be resting, like tapering going into the (African) Games because that’s really important,” said Kuipers.
Elizabeth Carr from Ireland emerged the winner in the elite women in 1hour 12minutes 7seconds.
The elite men’s title went to Ayan Beisenbayev of Kazakhstan with a time of 1hour 3minutes 59seconds.
It was also a difficult day for local juniors with Nicholson and Smith finishing on sixth and seventh respectively in the Africa Junior Cup.
Stanely Chasakara managed position eight and Mandlenkosi Mthethwa was ninth.
South Africa’s Nicholas Horne and Anika Visser won the junior men and women titles respectively.
Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture Minister Kirsty Coventry, in a speech read on her behalf by deputy Minister Emily Jesaya, commended the organisers for successfully hosting the event over the years.
“The Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup, Troutbeck has created a platform where athletes can showcase their talent whilst creating sustainable networks that will further their careers.
“The value of the event as part of the World Triathlon ranking points system is critical for our elite, Under-23 and junior development categories. The event continues to provide a platform for higher levels of competition as has been the case throughout the event history,” said Coventry.