BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
FRESH from putting on a good show at the Bonaqua Troutbeck ATU Triathlon Africa Cup, held in Nyanga last weekend, Zimbabwean junior triathlete Matthew Denslow is set to continue his schedule, which he hopes will culminate in a berth at the ITU Junior World Championship in Canada.
The 19-year-old talented athlete finished a commendable eighth in the star-studded elite category of the prestigious race, which was won by Switzerland’s Olympic triathlete Andrea Salvisberg.
Though he is still riding on the wave of excitement from his good performance in Nyanga, Denslow is eager to get back into action and has now set his sights on striking gold in the junior men’s race at the ATU Triathlon Junior African Cup in Durban, South Africa, this month.
This year’s ATU Triathlon Junior African Cup will be held on March 22 in Durban and will coincide with the South African Triathlon Championships, where Zimbabwe will also be represented in the other junior categories.
After using the Troutbeck event to test himself against the elite triathletes, Denslow revealed that he would be reverting to the junior men race for the upcoming event in Durban.
“At the SA Champs in South Africa I’ll be going down to race in the Under-19s, which is my age group. I’m going to be giving it all and I’m hoping to come out on top and win that race. Then again there are going to be some great athletes and it will be awesome to test myself against the best in my age group,” Denslow said.
The ATU Triathlon Junior African Cup in South Africa will be the first stage in his goal of qualifying for the 2020 ITU Junior World Championship to be held in Canada this August.
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In order to qualify for the global event, Denslow will need to book his place at the 2020 Sharm El Sheikh ATU Triathlon African Championships set for April 11 to 12.
“In the long term I’m looking to do some races in Europe. I’m also going to be racing in Egypt, which will be my qualifier for the World Championships and then my pinnacle this season is going to be the World Champs to be held in Canada in August if I manage to qualify,” he said.
Meanwhile, Denslow headlines a strong contingent of 21 Zimbabwean junior triathletes at the SA Championships and the 2020 Durban ATU Junior African Cup.
Triathlon Zimbabwe concluded the selection during the national championships held at Troutbeck last weekend, where local junior triathletes had the final opportunity to earn selection points.
Zimbabwe Team U13 Girls: Anje Van As (Chisipite Senior), Nicole Madya (Chisipite Senior) U13 Boys: Victor Joscelyne (St John’s College) U15 Girls: Brook-Lynn Tippett (Peterhouse Girls), Jessica Fuller (Hellenic Academy), Emma Lidsba (Harare International School) U15 Boys: Brandon Joscelyne (St John’s College), George Ascott (Peterhouse Boys), Austin Gill (Harare International School), Matipa Mawere (St John’s College) U17 Junior Women: Erin Elliott (Peterhouse Girls), Makanaka Mawere (Hellenic Academy) U17 Junior Men: Luke Hacker (Hellenic Academy), Luke Steffens (Hellenic Academy), Matthew Palmer (Peterhouse Boys), Keith Elliott (Peterhouse Boys), Jordyn Jacobs (Hellenic Academy), Jayden Young (Hellenic Academy) U19 Junior Women: Mikayla Colegrave (Hellenic Academy), Andie Kuipers (Peterhouse Girls) U19 Junior Men: Matthew Denslow (ex-Hellenic Academy)
