Ellina Mhlanga
ZIMBABWE’S triathlete Andie Kuipers left a mark at the 2023 Africa Triathlon Sprint Championships Blue Bay in Mauritius when coming second in the Under-23 women on Sunday.
Kuipers had a good day when settling for silver in a time of 1 hour 6 minutes 4 seconds.
The race consisted of a 750m swim, 20km bike and 5km run.
South Africa’s Bridget Theunissen won the race in 1 hour 3 minutes 13 seconds. Aisha Nasser Baksh of Kenya was placed third after crossing the finish line in 1 hour 13 minutes 24 seconds.
Triathlon Zimbabwe coach, Pamela Fulton, who is leading the Blue Bay Africa Triathlon – World Triathlon Youth and Junior Development Camp in Mauritius, was impressed with Sunday’s outcome.
“Andie is really happy with her race. She is happy, I am happy. She had a fantastic race.
“She has been working so hard at her swim and trying to get out of the water with the front pack and it’s the first time of having really good competition and that she has actually come out with the first pack.
“So her confidence has built so much. Now believes and knows that she can continue to do this in future.
“So she got out I think she was out of the water fourth or fifth but by the time she ran up to transition where I was she was actually in third position,” said Fulton.
Kuipers is hoping to make the cut for Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
While Kuipers made the top three on Sunday, upcoming athlete Duwan Botha had competed in the Junior Africa Cup at the same venue on Saturday, in the junior men category.
He found the going tough when finishing on position 10 with a time of 1 hour 8 minutes 35 seconds.
The race was won by France’s Thomas Naboudet-Alexis in 1 hour 00.59seconds, followed by his countryman Vince Auguste on second place with a time of 1 hour 2 minutes 24 seconds.