This year’s edition of the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup will be staged on April 1 at Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga marking the 15th anniversary of the event.
A triathlon is an endurance multi-sport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances.
A total of 25 elite athletes and 7 juniors have so far registered with just over a month to go. Event director, Rick Fulton says there is huge scope for more athletes registering given the amount of time still available.
“We already have 25 Elite athletes and 7 juniors registered and more athletes will come in,” Fulton told journalists in Harare at the launch of this year’s competition.
“It promises to be a thriller with stiff competition following an increase in the number of participants. An international field consisting of elite men and elite women is expected to register to compete in the Bonaqua African Triathlon Union (ATU), making this years’ edition, one of the biggest entries ever for the cup. Athletes are coming from Africa and outside the continent,” said Fulton.
Like the previous year, Zimbabwe will not have any representative in the elite race but has lined up several athletes for the junior categories which should be a good stepping stone for their progression to the Olympic Games.
Currently, athletes registered are from 15 countries including Japan, Chile, Morocco Togo, Austria, Poland, Netherlands and South Africa among others.
Apart from the elite and junior races, other supporting events on the day include an African Cross-Triathlon (Off-Road) Championship, Cimas Corporate Triathlon Challenge, Zimbabwe Triathlon Championships over a number of events, Tri-Kidz and Trisports triathlon, Aquathlon (run-swim-run) and an Open Water Swim, all under the banner of the Bonaqua Troutbeck Multisport Festival.
This year marks the sixth anniversary for Bonaqua still water as the official title sponsor, although Coca-Cola has been involved with the sport for nine years with Schweppes water. Bonaqua Water is bottled by Schweppes Zimbabwe limited on behalf of Coca-Cola.
The Bonaqua Troutbeck African Triathlon Union (ATU) is sanctioned by the International Triathlon Union (ITU).
It is a World Ranking points for elite athletes within the ITU ranking system. This means that the points scored by Elite athletes will ultimately become Olympic Ranking Qualification points for Olympics 2024.
Several partners, including title sponsors Coca Cola Africa and Schweppes Zimbabwe through their Bonaqua water brand, Cimas’ iGo, African Sun Hotels, Troutbeck Inn Resort, Ecocash Holdings, Rooney’s and CFAO Motors are part of this year’s event.
