AFRIKA TIKKUN TRIATHLETES SHINE AT LONDON TRIATHLON

On Saturday 22nd of September, the three young triathletes from Afrika Tikkun took centre stage together with more than 300 teams from around the world as they competed in swimming, running and cycling at the London Triathlon Cycle Challenge.

The Afrika Tikkun triathlete team from Johannesburg townships, namely, 21 year old runner, Nkosinathi Khambule (Orange Farm), cyclist, Eugene Baloyi (24) and swimmer, Abongile Mvunyiswa (21) both from Alexandra, flew to London on Thursday 20th September with their manager Thomas Taole.

Mvunyiswa finished the swim in 24 minutes 11 sec. Though he had an outstanding time, Myunyiswa wasn’t satisfied with his performance. “I wouldn’t say I’m impressed about my performance, but I will improve on that,” said the talented swimmer.

Khambule completed the run in 20 minutes, ranking him 5th out of all the sprint team runners. Baloyi’s bike ride was roughly 1 hour and 15 minutes. Baloyi has had a great season, even qualifying for the World Championships in France due to his performance in the provincial triathlon in Cape Town.

“I gained a lot in the cycling side and I’m willing to take this experience on nurturing the young talents within my community. The race was very challenging as it was windy but it helped me on adjusting to all kinds of weather,” he said.

Jubilant Jones, Afrika Tikkun’s sports manager, said, “The performance was massive, especially from the swimming side. In five years we’ve never finished the swimming course until Mvunyiswa showed up with the platform to learn and practice. A coached black man can swim after all.”

Khambule knows that without support, their dream journey would have never happened. “I want to thank Belron, Afrika Tikkun and all the people who made this trip a reality and I hope they will not stop here in terms of discovering the talents.”

Image1: Afrika Tikkun triathlon team together with other international team;
Image2: Triathlon team with their cheque;
Image3: UK & Europe Afrika Tikkun executive director Becky Lahey-Bean with the young triathletes;
Image4: from left: Abongile, coach Thomas Taole, Eugene and Nkosinathi after the race.