Africa-Press – Namibia. In a great day for Namibian sport, Nathan Chase and Maja Brinkmann made history as both won gold medals at the Africa Junior Triathlon Championships in Cairo, Egypt, on Friday.
It was the second time that Brinkmann had won gold at the continental championship, while Chase previously won a bronze medal. However, it was the first time that both won gold, underlining Namibia’s status as a rising triathlon force on the continent.
In the men’s race, Chase was fourth out of the water, 21 seconds behind the leader, Antony Clayton of South Africa, but he put in a great ride on the bike, overtaking both South Africans. By the start of the final running leg, he had built up a lead of 23 seconds.
Chase stretched his lead even more on the final running leg and went on to complete a comfortable victory, winning gold medal in 58 minutes 34 seconds, while Clayton took silver in 59:04 and Oliver Delport bronze in 59:38.
Afterwards Chase said he was pleased with his performance in difficult circumstances.
“I had a really good race. The conditions were a bit difficult – it was super windy, so the start was delayed as they tried to get the buouys back in the water. That messed up our warm-up, so once they actually started the swim I didn’t feel great and I lost a bit of time and came out of the water in fourth place,” he said.
“Luckily I felt really good on the bike and just started powering. I was with a Tunisian guy chasing the front two guys and then after about two laps we caught the front guys and then we were a group of four. Then we dropped the Tunisian guy and then after making two big attacks, I managed to get rid of the two South Africans. On the last bike lap I just tried to keep the effort consistent to save for the run and then I had a pretty good run and managed to keep the gap al the way till the end,” he added.
BRINKMANN LEADS FROM THE START
Brinkmann, meanwhile, led from the start, taking a one second lead over Taylor Foster of South Africa out of the water, and although she lost a bit of time on the transition, she soon regained the lead on the cycling leg. Brinkmann pulled further away, to open up a gap of 34 seconds at the second transition, and despite losing a bit of time on the running leg, she completed a comfortable win, taking gold in 1:07:01, while Foster came second in 1:07:24 and Joudy Fathy of Egypt third in 1:08:35.
Nathan Chase and Maja Brinkmann with their gold medals. Photo: Contributed
“It’s a great day for us Namibians today, Nathan became the African champ and then about an hour later I became the African champ as well,” Brinkmann said afterwards.
“The race was really hard, but I had a strong swim, a strong bike, and the best run I’ve had in a while, so I’m really happy with my race. I’m thinking of lots of people back home, all my coaches and my family who have been helping me – it’s not just my work, its everyone’s work, we all put hours into this so I’m really happy to come home with the gold and I really appreciate everything everyone does for me,” she added.
“I’m really happy for Nathan and that we could both bring back the gold – it’s so special and it’s quite surreal that Namibian triathlon, such a small federation, could pull this off,” she said.
Several other young Namibians also participated, with James Langford coming 13th in the junior men’s category, as well as sixth in the youth category; Matt Izaaks 19th (10th in the youth); and Fynn Middleton 35th (18th in the youth category).
In the junior women’s category, Jana Mutschler came 12th and Kyra Marschall 13th.
Adele de la Rey, who accompanied them as coach, said she was very proud of the whole team.
“As coach, I am incredibly proud of the entire team and not just the medal winners. Every athlete who raced has worked extremely hard. To stand at the finish line and watch them perform at their best reminds you why you do this – the reward is much bigger than the medals.”
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