Rhodes student to fly SA flag at triathlon
RHODES university athlete Jonathan Benjamin is gearing up to represent South Africa at the World Triathlon Championships to be hosted in Canada later this year.
Benjamin, 24, an Environmental Sciences Masters candidate at the university, recently scooped the crown in the South African Triathlon championships – which qualified him for the world championship in Edmonton, Canada, in August.
Benjamin said he was thrilled to be competing in Edmonton, adding that he had participated in the South African championships just for the experience, not expecting to win, and just hoping for the chance to go to the world championships.
“I am very excited; I only participated in the SA championships to gain the experience of competing against the best in the country in my age group. I am still in a little bit of disbelief that I have been selected.
“I didn’t think it would result in me going to the world championships. It has always been my dream to represent my country, and this is a starting point for me to race with the professionals,” Benjamin said.
The Cape Town-born triathlete told The Star that he was from a very active family where both his mother, father and sister competed at provincial level, which was where he got the motivation to participate in sport.
“I’ve always been an active person. My dad was a triathlete back in the day, he was a provincial triathlete. My mom was a provincial water skier and my sister was a provincial water polo player, so anything active I’ve always been exposed to by them from a young age,” Benjamin said.
A triathlon is an endurance multisport race with swimming, cycling, and running over various distances being the three foundations.
Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially, with the time transitioning between the disciplines included.
Benjamin, who has been in the Free State training alone besides occasional group runs, said he planned to return to Cape Town to train with his coach in preparation for the world championships.
“Since the pandemic, I have been fortunate, but it has also been challenging training by myself. I do have a coach I work with, but he is based in Cape Town. I hope to go back to Cape Town to prepare for the world championships,” Benjamin said.
He said balancing his training and studies has been doable as his Masters allowed him a flexible schedule to focus on studying as well as the traithlon.
“Doing my Masters has allowed me the flexibility I need to fit everything in. When I have free time, I am able to focus on training,” he said.
The weekends are for longer training sessions where he tests his limits, while Mondays are for swimming which, in turn, helps with soothing his body from the intense weekend training, while Tuesdays are for running and cycling to build his strength and endurance.
Benjamin competed in his first triathlon when he was in Grade 2, and went on to compete at provincial level representing the Western Cape.
But he did not compete in triathlon until he was in his second year at Rhodes University.
He hopes to finish in under two hours at the world championships.