Story by Lawrence Trusida, Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S top Triathlon, Andie Kuipers returned from a long injury layoff to win gold in the Under 23 Women’s category at the 2025 Africa Triathlon Championships held at Nelson Mandela Bay in South Africa on Saturday.
Kuipers has been struggling with injuries for the past two seasons and recently missed the Troutbeck leg of the Africa Triathlon Cup.
However, once she recovered, she made her way to South Africa and showed her class after winning gold at the Africa Triathlon Cup in South Africa.
The United States of America-based athlete is happy with her triumph on the track.
“I am really happy to be back and to win recently I have struggling with an injury and recently my mother was diagnosed with stage four cancer so it has been a very tough period but this win showed me that I can still compete at the top level,” Kuipers said.
Her goal is now to prepare for the 2028 Olympic Games.
“The goal definitely is to qualify for the Olympics and I will be competing in more tournaments and the African Games again to gain more points for the LA Games.,” she said.
Kuipers was the first woman to come out of the waters and she held on to her lead on the bike despite the strong winds.
The 22-year-old further consolidated her lead in the run and created a sizable gap to the finish line to win in two hours, seventeen minutes and 18 seconds.
She was followed by Kenya’s Megan Irungu, while South African athlete Aimee Roux failed to finish the race.
