The Africa Triathlon Cup is set for Saturday in Swakopmund with 11 countries competing, namely host Namibia, Finland, Austria, Mauritius, the United States of America, Netherlands, Greece, Japan, Kenya, South Africa and Germany.

Athletes will compete in the sprint event, which includes a 750-metre (m) swim, 20-kilometre (km) cycling, and a 5km run. There will also be a super-sprint, which consists of a 350m swim, 10km cycling and a 2.5 km run.

One of the organisers, Adele de Le Ray stated that close to 120 triathletes have registered. However, she noted that Namibia has a significant gap in elite triathletes, with Anri Greff being one of the notable names in the elite women’s category. There is a strong pool of junior athletes entering for the weekend’s race, including Nathan Chase and Maja Brinkmann.

De Le Ray mentioned that Greece’s Bitados Panagiotis is expected to be the favourite to win the main race. Last week, Panagiotis claimed the gold medal in the men’s elite division at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup in Zimbabwe.

In the elite men’s category last year, South Africa’s Jamie Riddle won the event, with Murray finishing second, and Lukas Pertl from Austria in third.

In the women’s elite category, South Africa’s Vicky van der Merwe claimed victory, with her compatriot Bridget Theunissen in second, and Marit van den Berg from the Netherlands in third.

In the junior men’s category, which featured six entries, Nicholas Horne took the top spot, followed by fellow South African Alessandro Fanicchi, and Namibia’s Chase in third.

Kadence Ribbink dominated the junior women’s race, beating teammate Lomé Gouws, who took second place, while Namibia’s Brinkmann finished third. 

-lmupetami@nepc.com.na