SA's triathlon triumph enters a golden age

Henri Schoeman (2nd), Richard Murray (1st) and Wian Sullwald (3rd) after the 2017 Discovery Triathlon World Cup in Green Point, Cape Town. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Henri Schoeman (2nd), Richard Murray (1st) and Wian Sullwald (3rd) after the 2017 Discovery Triathlon World Cup in Green Point, Cape Town. Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix

Published Feb 18, 2017

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Three South African men winning a race over three legs signalled a red-letter day at the Discovery Triathlon World Cup in Cape Town last weekend.

The sport, together with rowing, has been a beacon of hope in a sea of ineptitude as they excel on the global stage despite a lack of resources.

Spearheaded by Richard Murray and Olympic bronze medallist Henri Schoeman, South Africa dominated the men’s race with Wian Sullwald rounding off the podium by finishing third.

Murray has been a regular performer on the world stage while Schoeman made his breakthrough in 2016 after capturing South Africa's first triathlon medal at the Games before winning the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Cozumel, Mexico.

Former junior world champion Sullwald finally made good on his rising star promise, adding to South Africa's charge on the international stage.

The success of these athletes is the result of support they receive from the national body aiding them to feature on the world circuit.

Nicholas Quenet, who was the first South African out of the water in Cape Town, has been identified as a new prospect while Dylan Nortje finished just one place behind him in the race.

Like so many other sports in the country, triathlon also seems to be battling to produce world-class female athletes but the jury is still out on that.

The recent retirement of Mari Rabie and that of two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games athlete Kate Roberts three years ago has left somewhat of a void.

Racing on the circuit is a costly affair but is equally crucial if triathletes want to climb the rankings scoring points at these races.

Unlike rowing’s centralised system, which allows elite athletes to train at the same base for a large part of the year, triathlon focuses more on the individual.

While Triathlon South Africa offer top athletes some support, it is still not at the level of some of the world’s top nations.

Tennis is contemplating the return of the Super Squad system where the TSA sponsored eight men and eight women for 26 weeks each year on the international tour.

A similar system would take triathlon-boasting pockets of excellence to be a powerhouse in the swim, cycle, run event.

It was the first year the Cape Town event has been downgraded from a World Triathlon Series event to a World Cup.

With the money saved, TSA would be able to host a series of smaller events in South Africa, giving up-and-coming triathletes racing opportunities.

This should at least allow the federation to identify young talent that will qualify to make it on to the elite squad that would travel the world to earn points.

Although the federation is battling to give athletes full financial support, it does give them logistical support, which removes a lot of the stress so that they can focus on their training.

Producing three world-class athletes with limited support suggests the

sport could do even better with more funding.

South African triathlon is moving into a golden era, which could see three of its athletes among the top 10 on a regular basis.

It needs to capitalise on the growing popularity of the sport and produce more Schoemans and Murrays to ride the wave of its success.

Saturday Star

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