Zimpapers Logo

Ellina Mhlanga 

Senior Sports Reporter 

OLYMPIC hopeful Andie Kuipers will be hoping to gauge her level of competition when she takes part at the Africa Triathlon Championships this weekend in Agadir, Morocco. 

The competition is set for Saturday and Sunday. 

Kuipers, who is based in the United States, joined the rest of the team that is mainly comprised of youth and juniors in Agadir for the championships. 

Zimbabwe are fielding 11 athletes at the competition, including Kuipers, who is going to compete in the Under-23 Women. 

The rest of the team will compete in the youth and junior categories. 

National coach, Pamela Fulton, said it will give Kuipers an insight of the level she needs to be among the top on the continent to increase her chances of qualifying for Olympics. 

“So the Under-23 category they race with the elite ladies, so it’s really fast and it’s only the results that are separated into Under-23 and elite. So it will give her an idea as to what level of competition she needs to be at to be top in Africa,” said Fulton. 

Kuipers is one of the 10 beneficiaries of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Olympic Solidarity Paris 2024 Scholarships. 

With Kuipers hoping to make the Olympics, Fulton said it will be interesting to see her competing with the likes of Egypt’s Basmla Elsalamoney, who competed at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. 

“So she is obviously trying to get to Paris 2024 on the new flag system which is the athlete with the highest ranking by the end of the qualification period that hasn’t qualified naturally through the highest ranking system. 

“So in the past South Africa has always qualified in the natural process by getting enough points and last Olympics Basmla from Egypt she qualified for the new flag.

“Basmla will be racing, she is still an Under-23, so this race Basmla will be racing again in the Under-23. So she has been to the Olympics, so that will be really interesting for Andie to race against her, to sort of see what level Basmla is at. 

“And obviously she is still really young and most triathletes only get to the Olympics in their late 20s. So Paris 2024, she will only be about 23 years old, so still many years to 2028, (it) will probably be the Olympic she will really be gearing towards,” said Fulton. 

George Ascott and Matipa Mawere are going to compete in the Junior Men. 

Makanaka Mawere, Emma Lidsba and Brooklyn Tippett are set to participate in the Junior Women. 

Rohnan Nicholson and Callum Smith are going to take part in the Youth Under-15 boys while the trio of Anje van As, Tayleigh Taylor and Nicole Madya compete in the girls’ section. 

“Everything is looking good here. Yesterday afternoon we went for a swim in the sea, the kids absolutely loved it, for some of them it was the first time ever on the sea. 

“We have just been on the bike course. The kids now have an idea of what the course is going to be like. Hopefully planning to pool swim tomorrow and we will go on the bike course again tomorrow . . . So all is looking good, kids are getting confident by having a really great time and enjoying themselves,” said Fulton. 

Makanaka Mawere, who is one of the captains, is upbeat they will rise to the challenge when they compete with some of the best. 

“I have got very high hopes for the team. I know a lot of them have been training hard, everyone has been training hard and we have got so much talent in this team. So I am excited to see how well we can do and I know that we will do well,” said Mawere.

The team was scheduled to have another sea swim late yesterday.