Big EL contingent makes world champs teams
THE South African Biathle and Triathle teams for this year’s World Championships were selected recently, after the national championships was hosted in East London at the end of June.
The Champs will take place in Batumi, Georgia next month and will see the best Biathle and Triathle talent in the world converge on the event.
A 56-strong SA Biathle squad together with a 30-athlete Triathle squad will take part.
A number of athletes have been chosen to represent in both Biathle and Triathle and this is not the first world champs for several of them.
An impressive 24 athletes out of the 56-person Biathle squad come from the Eastern Cape with 15 coming from East London.
“I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of athletes who were selected from the Eastern Cape, but I am happy with how many of our local athletes made it,” said Biathle coach Sammy Saunders.
“We have some very good competitors and I believe quite a few of them are capable of getting on the podium.”
Stirling Primary’s Calum Emslie (youth F boys), Ethan Currin (youth E boys), Connor Preston (youth E boys) and Caleb Meistre (youth D boys), Gonubie Primary’s Travis Shaw (youth E boys) and Selborne Primary’s Luke Taylor (youth D boys) were the Primary school reps to make it into the SA team.
Meistre last year became world champ in his division and he will be eager to continue his good form and aim for another podium this year.
On the high school side, Hudson Park’s Batsirai Muzenda (youth C boys), whose twin brother Batanai just missed out on selection, Beac Tayla Botha (youth C girls) and Stirling’s Sheree Brandt (youth C girls) and Teko Khetsi (youth B boys) will be looking to do their best.
All-round athlete Cindy Schwulst will be our sole local senior competitor when she lines up in the senior female division alongside the world’s best.
In the age group category East London boasts a number of experienced athletes and former world champs which should see them being very competitive.
Rodney Westgate (master A male), Dominic Lahoud (master A male), Anthony Cox (master B male), Anita Louw (master B female) and Peter Venter (master C male) will be gunning for top honours.
Westgate, the defending champ, will lead the charge.
On the Triathle side, nine of the 30person team come from the Eastern Cape, with eight of those athletes from East London.
“I think we will surprise people in
world Triathle, as our athletes are all new to it, but they are all improving every day,” said Saunders.
Teko Khetsi, Cindy Schwulst, Dominic Lahoud, Anthony Cox and Peter Venter proved their talent in making it a double SA selection and they will compete on both the Biathle and Triathle side of things at the champs.
Hudson Park High’s Rhys Poovan (youth B boys), Stirling High’s Tara Schwulst (youth B girls) and Cambridge High’s Nico van Zyl (youth A boys) round out the local athletes who will be aiming for glory in Triathle.
“In all I think we are in good shape in both Biathle and Triathle and I expect the SA team to do very well at the world champs,” said Saunders.