Unfortunately, last year's race was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, so this Sunday's race will be even more special for the athletes that have been training for the last two years. 

Also Read: The state of long distance running in SA

Aaron Masemola had the amazing opportunity to chat to four elite professional triathletes that will be competing this weekend.

Annah Watkinson, who is a professional triathlete and an investment banker by profession, explained why she loves competing in these races that many people would describe as absolutely ridiculous given the incredibly long distances:

After several injuries which include being hit by a taxi on the 12 December 2020 whilst out doing a training run and breaking her arm on the 9 October 2021, Watkinson, believes that her training has gone very well and she maintains that she will most certainly deliver a good result on Sunday. Furthermore, Watkinson indicated that it’s wonderful to see so many South African female athletes stepping up to compete in these distances. 

Natia van Herden, who recently won the Ironman 70.3 South African event on the 5 September 2021, and who is also currently ranked number 118th in the world , emphasised that we should have more local races at the same standard as other international triathlon event:

Van Herden also spoke about how she had an incredibly slow start to her season but her fourth place finishes at the Free State triathlon that took place on the 21 March 2021, as well as the Sun City Ultra hosted on the 2 May 2021, were essential to her preparations for the Ironman African Championship.

Magda Nieuwoudt, who obtained her honours degree in Sport Science at the North West University and started competing professionally in 2017, explained what makes this year's race so special given that the covid-19 pandemic led to last year's race being cancelled:

In addition, Nieuwoudt, who is also a triathlon coach gave some advice to athletes competing in their first Ironman African Championship: “Stay in the now and simply focus on controlling the controllables”. 

Mariella Sawyer, who is a registered dietitian and who is also currently ranked number 126th in the world, explained why you shouldn’t try anything new when it comes to your nutrition on race day and why it is so important to watch your calorie intake carefully as well as keep hydrated during the race.

Ultimately, Sawyer touched on the psychological side of competing professionally and how challenging it is to compete with elite athletes that have been competing for years. She stresses that backing yourself and trusting the process is vital to achieving success.

We are wishing all our South African triathletes all the best on Sunday and we are certain that the supporters in Gqebera will make this race one for the history books.