Rising star Gideon Benade will become the first Zimbabwean to compete in the Elite category of the annual Bonaqua Troutbeck ATU Sprint Triathlon African Cup in six years when he takes on some of the world’s top triathletes in Nyanga next month.
BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
The former Peterhouse pupil will be the country’s lone representative in the men’s elite category of the grueling race set for the Troutbeck Inn Resort in Nyanga on February 17.
Two-time Olympian Chris Felgate was the last Zimbabwean to pursue a professional triathlon career before his retirement six years ago. Felgate called time on his career after the 2012 edition of the Troutbeck ATU African Triathlon Cup where he secured a commendable second place finish behind South African star Henri Schoeman.
Since then, Triathlon Zimbabwe (TZ) has been hit by a severe talent drain, with many promising triathletes relocating overseas in pursuit of better tertiary education and opting not to pursue professional careers.
Benade, who has been one of the country’s most consistent junior and later youth triathletes in recent years, is therefore set to provide a glimmer of hope for the sport, which ironically has continued to produce very talented junior triathletes.
In fact, the rising star will be hoping for a solid start to his career in the Elite category in front of his home fans.
The talented athlete, who turns 20 on February 12 — just five days before the prestigious race — will take his place in the strong field of 17 elite triathletes from South Africa, Germany, Australia, Hong Kong and Namibia.
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TZ president Rick Fulton said they were delighted with Benade’s progression, saying it would add further interest in the prestigious race.
“We are obviously very pleased with his progress because he’s still young in regards to the elite level because he’s still in the Under-23 age group category, but it will be a good learning curve for him,” Fulton said.
“He knows the Troutbeck track very well, so he will have homeground advantage, but he’s up against some top competition so he must learn from it and enjoy the experience.”
Fulton said they were excited by the level of interest in this year’s Bonaqua Troutbeck ATU Sprint Triathlon African Cup both locally and outside the country.
“The interest in the event both locally and from outside the country has been very good, which is quite pleasing because we’ve been marketing the event very aggressively for some time now and we are working well with our sponsors, the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee and the Sports and Recreation Commission,” he said.
TZ is set to expand the Bonaqua Troutbeck ATU Sprint Triathlon African Cup, which runs concurrently with the Zimbabwe National Championships as well as the Troutbeck Mile Open Water Swim by including off-road triathlon for the first time in the history of the annual competition.
Off-road triathlon, also known as cross triathlon, is a three-stage race consisting of a swim stage, mountain-biking stage, and a trail-running.
The event will also see the introduction of the Troutbeck Trikids competition.
Highlights of the compettion will include the Elite Under-23 Sprint Triathlon, Aqualthlon, Bonaqua team relay triathlon as well as the Open water swim, the Troutbeck Mile, just to mention a few.
