SOUTH Africa Junior Women triathlete Kira Ribbink overcame two months of sickness to line up in her first match event in July, the Egypt African Championships and today, she is back in Zimbabwe to defend her crown at the Bonaqua Troutbeck African Triathlon Union (ATU) Cup that kicks off at the hilly Nyanga Resort Town on Saturday morning.
The 17-year-old, short, stout, but equally explosive athlete came out tops in Egypt after shrugging off ill health. For two good months, she could not go to school, and for two full months, she could not train.
Last year at Troutbeck, together with her year older sister, Kayla, they personalized the podium with a first and second-place finish in the Junior Women category to win gold and silver medals, respectively.
The younger sister Kira crossed the finish line first in 01:14:18 ahead of her elder sibling, Kayla finished two minutes behind in 01:16:34.
“Last year, I won Troutbeck as a junior which was really fun. I mean, I didn’t expect it because it was my first year racing in Troutbeck. This year is my second year. I’m a bit more prepared but also not as prepared because I have just come out of a rest period,” Kira told EnterSportNews in an exclusive interview here at Troutbeck.
“It’s (Bonaqua Troutbeck race) coming towards the end of the season as opposed to last year Troutbeck was at the beginning of the year, and this year Troutbeck is at the end of the year.
“So I’m definitely coming not at my peak, but I’m hoping to just improve this year, just to improve my time and just to improve on different disciplines.”
She said her sugar levels dropped, and she fainted every time she exercises.
“I was sick at the beginning of the year leading up to the African Championships in Egypt, which was in July, so I was sick. I couldn’t go to school for a month or two, couldn’t exercise for a month or two. My blood sugar kept dropping, so I kept fainting every time I exercise,” she added.
“My heart rate would spark, I would faint, and then we finally got that under control in time for me to race in Egypt and I managed to win in Egypt, which was really good because I didn’t expect to win. I just had a really good feeling about African champs in Egypt, and I managed to pull that off. I’m very mentally strong, and I always hold on to that.”
Unfortunately for Kira, tomorrow she will have to go it alone as her sister Kayla did not travel to Zimbabwe for this year’s edition of the competition.
“My sister recently got a scholarship to a school in America, a university there for triathlon, which was a huge achievement for her,” she said.
“It was really unexpected, but she managed to pull that off, but I will hopefully be joining her in January at a different university but not too far away from her, and we will race for America under the NCAA Division 2,” she said.
Ribbink will sweat it out against fellow South African athlete Bridget Theunissen and Zimbabwe’s finest Junior Women, Makanaka Mawere and Jessica Fuller. Zimbabwe will also field three Junior Men athletes, George Ascott, Marcel Paulser and David Knox. Athletes have been drawn from South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Namibia, Senegal and Zimbabwe for the juniors.
The elite event comprises athletes from Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria, while Zimbabwe will be represented by Greer Wynn in the women elite category.
