All set for for Bonaqua Troutbeck Africa Triathlon Cup

ANESU MASAMVU

The 16th  edition of the Bonaqua Troutbeck Africa Triathlon Cup, which takes place on February 17 at the Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga, will feature at least 14 participating countries.

These include Namibia, Romania, South Africa, Algeria, Zimbabwe, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Mauritius, Netherlands, Namibia, and Algeria.

The competition has evolved into a multisport celebration with a number of additional events scheduled on the same day.

Speaking at a press conference  yesterday in Harare Sports Minister Kirsty Coventry said  the event was now an important day on the sporting calendar as it has  impacted on development of future Zimbabwe participants at the Olympics.

“It’s always interesting when you start talking to people and hear it’s an olympic year  and we  are going to qualify… What we need as Zimbabwe is to show our juniors what the path looks like for them to be inspired  to qualify for an olympic game.

“What does that look like? How fast do I need to be?  What events do I need to take part in? This is now one of those events to build up their confidence at the international level  for them to be able to qualify,” Coventry said.

Event director Rick Fulton says they are expecting at least 50 elite and junior level athletes and about 300 local participants.

After having no participant in the elite category in the last edition, Zimbabwe will this year be represented by Olympic hopeful Andie Kuipers.

“I am very happy to be here, it has been four years since I raised the trophy. I have got a few more commitments to do in terms of qualifying for the games,” Kuipers said.

Representing the sponsors of the event, CIMAS Chief Marketing officer Tatenda Madzikanda said their duty is to make sure the country successfully hosts the event.

“As sponsors, we commit to ensure  that together we grow this event to be bigger and better. For us, this is a good example of cooperation of like-minded companies to support sports which is a critical activity  in our community especially in an environment where we are battling with mental health issues and non-communicable diseases,” Madzikanda said.