The fourth of six triathlon qualifying selection events of the 2015-16 season saw 72 male and 44 female participants compete at Mt Pleasant Pool Sunday (17 January 2016) in the full range of fun and competitive events. Top junior triathletes, including Drew Williams and Rebecca Duncan who represented Zimbabwe in the Jr World Championships and junior triathletes Skye Davidson and Helen Mitchell, were conspicuous by their absence at the event.
Hellenic student Gabrielle De Chassart was the top junior female finisher in the Half Triathlon with a time of 1:11:51 with recent Arundel graduate Sarah Hawgood, a swimmer relatively new to the triathlon scene, shaving off four minutes from her previous personal best to finish in 1:13:09. The Half Triathlon consists of a 33 width pool swim followed by a 20km cycle finishing with a 5km run.
In the Quarter category for 14-15 year old girls, Sasha Gemmill finished in 41:06, narrowly beating favorite Andie Kuipers of Peterhouse Girls who finished in 41:39.
On the boys’ side, returning from an injury Peterhouse’s Gideon Benade was the first in for the Half Triathlon in 1:05:12, closely followed by fellow Pertain Rupert Anschuetz in 1:05:29. Alex Colegrave was the third male half finisher in 1:05:55.
The fifth selection event of the 2015-16 triathlon season will take place at Mt Pleasant Pool on Sunday, 31 January, with the sixth being the renowned African Triathlon Union Cup competitions at Troutbeck on 20 February. These qualification events will determine who represents Zimbabwe at the South African Championships and African Championships in 2016.