Jamie Riddle and Vicky Van der Merwe crowned African champions in Hurghada

Two South African athletes, Jamie Riddle and Vicky Van der Merwe, have claimed the African Championships titles this weekend in Hurghada, Egypt. Riddle, still under 23 years old, also claimed the U23 title, as his teammate Amber Schlebusch, while Zacharia Chtioui (TUN) and Maja Jeanne Brinkmann (NAM) won on the Junior categories.

On the Elite race, it was the young South African Riddle who proved once again that he is one of the strongest swimmer on the circuit, exiting the water almost one minute ahead the biggest favourite and African champion in 2022, Jawad Abdelmoula (MAR). Riddle waited for Badr Siwane (MAR), only a few seconds behind Riddle out of the water, and they both worked tirelessly on the bike to open a significant break with Abdelmoula. After the 40km bike ride, the leading duo had a lead of over three minutes with Abdelmoula, enough for Riddle to cross the finish line confidently in first place to claim his first ever African Championship, with Siwane finishing in second place and Abdelmoula in third.

Riddle also claimed the U23 title, while Sifeddine Selmi (TUN) and Seifeldeen Ismail (EGY) finished second and third respectively.

On the women’s race, South Africa produced an outstanding podium sweep with Shanae Williams first out of the water, followed closely by Amber Schlebusch and Vicky Van der Merwe. The three of them quickly regrouped on the bike and rode together for most of the 40 km bike course, with all to be decided on the run. And it was Van der Merwe the fastest on the day, crossing the finish line in the first place to claim her first ever African championship, finishing two and a half minutes ahead of Schelebusch, who had to wait another five minutes to see the third woman on the line: Williams.

Schelebusch, who won the 2018 Youth Games in Buenos Aires, was the winner of the U23 category, with another South African, Bridget Theunissen, in second place and May Sami (EGY) in third.

On the Junior side, the first three junior men crossing the finish line -Ali McWard (USA), Adnan Zaki (SYR) and Hudson Hamilton (USA)- were not African, therefore the African champions were Zakaria Chtioui (TUN), Mohamed Aziz Hamdi (TUN) and Youssef Mohammed (EGY), the following ones on the finish line. On the women’s race, the winner was Maja Jeanne Brinkmann (NAM), who recently won the bronze medal at the Commonwealth Youth Games. Second place was for Kadence Ribbink (RSA) and bronze for Nora Nouri (MAR).

South Africa also won the Mixed Relay African Championships, with Riddle, Schelebusch, Dylan Norge and Van der Merwe delivering a solid race and leading from the beginning til the end. Team Morocco finished in second place, and Team Algeria took the final spot on the podium.

Hurghada also hosted the Para triathlon African Championships, with one of the largests fields of play in the last years. On the PTWC men’s category, Fati Zwoukhi (TUN) was the first one on the finish line, almost 15 minutes ahead of Eslam Ali (EGY), with Redouane Ouassif (MAR) in third. Jeromious Rooi, from Namibia and the youngest athlete in the Para race, claimed the victory on the PTS3 class, while Mhlengi Gwala (RSA) took the tape on the PTS4 class, and Islam Abozied (EGY) won on the PTS5 category.

On the PTVI class, the African champions were Ibrahim Hafez (EGY) and his guide, with Heinrich Vermaak, from South Africa, in second place. The only female Para athlete competing was Kirsty Weir, also from South Africa, who won in the PTS3 class.