TEAM Zimbabwe capped a fine weekend with a bronze in the mixed relay on Sunday taking their tally to four medals from the 2023 World Triathlon Development Region Cup in Diani, Kenya.
Elite Women gold medalist at the same event on Saturday, Andie Kuipers teamed up with Mandlenkosi Mthethwa, a silver medalist in the Junior Men, to form a formidable Team Zimbabwe.
Together they clocked 00:43:24, claiming third spot in the mixed relay race, as they made a bold statement about their performance in East Africa.
The race comprised a 23.3°C 300m swim, 5km bike and 1.7km run under 24.1°C weather conditions.
Mauritius won the mixed relay race in 00:39:01, with Kenya taking silver in 00:42:50.
Triathlon Zimbabwe Head Coach Pam Fulton was impressed with the results.
“Zimbabwe has had such an exceptional weekend of racing coming home with four medals from the individual and mixed team relay events,” she told EnterSportNews.
“In the relay event, the men started first with a 300m swim, 5km bike and 1,6km run. The relay event is always fast and furious.
“This is the first relay event Mthethwa has ever competed in. Being the youngest male competing amongst elite men, he found the pace fast and now knows the areas he needs to work on for the future.
After the men, the button was passed on to the ladies.
“The men tagged the ladies and competed over the same distance. Andie had another good race posting the fastest split amongst the ladies,” added Fulton.
“A big thank you to the Kenyan Triathlon Federation for hosting a good event and making us feel extremely welcome.”
