Future looks promising for Andie Kuipers
TRIATHLETE Andie Kuipers’ involvement in triathlon was by accident.
But several years down the line, her future in the sport looks promising.
Kuipers is one of the country’s hopefuls for the 2024 Olympic Games.
The multi-sport show-piece is due to run from July 26 to August 11 in Paris, France.
Kuipers, who is studying Psychology at Wingate University in the United States, has temporarily moved back home for her training and has taken a semester off her studies to focus on qualification.
She will represent the country in the elite women at the 16th edition of the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup on February 17 at the Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga.
It will be her first race for the season and one of the several events she is scheduled to compete in as she seeks to accumulate points towards qualification for the Olympics.
But for Kuipers going into triathlon was not by design.
“The first race I did was because I have a twin sister and she decided on the day (of the competition) she didn’t want to do the triathlon race. So I said I would do it for her.
“And I did one race and after that Carol Pakenham (former Triathlon Zimbabwe secretary-general) came to me and said would you want to carry on and said if you do carry on you can get points and make the South Africa Championships team.
“So that kind of planted a seed in my head and I have loved it ever since then. That was in, I think 2014. So my triathlon wasn’t planned.”
Pakenham also recalls her first meeting with Kuipers.
“She did the event on a mountain bike, I think it was and then did the run and finished way ahead of everyone else.
“After that event she kept coming back for every event and came as an individual not with her school. She got better and better as she grew up, and now look where she is . . . She is dedicated, determined and absolutely loves her sport,” said Pakenham.
Kuipers went on to compete in local events as a junior, competing at all local races and the South Africa Championships which she says were “like our big one.”
That opened doors for her as she got selected to be part of development camps which helped her make progress.
“After that a few athletes in Africa got recognised to go on a development camp, like if you are at a certain level, and I got to go on those camps.
“They were all in France, I went on three I think and I think those played a huge part for me in terms of my development and especially motivation because I wanted to keep being able to have those opportunities,” said Kuipers.
Also, qualifying for the 2019 ITU World Triathlon Grand Final held in Switzerland made her realise the possibilities in the sport. She competed in the junior’s section.
“There was a time I could qualify for Youth Olympics and unfortunately I didn’t end up qualifying. But after that I ended up qualifying for World Championships and I got to experience the level when I was, I think 18 or 17.
“And I felt like I definitely could make this into something and I want to. And I got to go on a few training camps when I was a junior and living the athlete life, just training, eating sleeping and racing was something that I loved and I still love.
“When I went on a training camp recently it was like this is the life that I dreamed of.”
Some of her achievements include winning a bronze medal at the African Games staged in Morocco, in 2019. She won gold in the elite women category at the 2023 World Triathlon Development Regional Cup in Diani, Kenya.
Prior to developing interest in triathlon, the former Peterhouse student was already an athlete, involved in several sport codes at school from athletics, in particular cross country, mountain biking, hockey, tennis and water polo.
She moved to the United-States on a scholarship in 2020.
However, the 21-year-old said it has not been an easy path.
“But my experience over the last few years I think I have had many ups and downs. It definitely hasn’t been all easy and I think, like on the media, everyone tends to just see all of the good things. But there is definitely been some really hard times.”