Kenya Triathlon Association picks seven triathletes for African Games

Seven Kenyan triathletes will line up in the newly introduced International Triathlon Union (ITU) Zone Five Championships at Lake Kivu, Rwanda, on Saturday.

They were named after Mombasa Open International Triathlon held Nyali Beach International Hotel in Mombasa yesterday.

Kenya Triathlon Association (KTA) secretary Harrison Mwangi said the team will compete in the African Games scheduled for Rabat, Morocco, on August 16-30.

“We opted to have the team compete in Rwanda to expose and sharpen their skills,” said Mwangi

Zone Five championships will be held on Saturday where six nations in Kenya, Egypt, Burundi, Cameroon, Uganda and Rwanda are in contention.

“ITU will use the event in their ranking and development of the sport,” said Mwangi, adding that  Kenya has placed a bid to host next year’s event.

Kenya’s top-ranked junior triathlete Jossete Njeri and reigning men champion Abdallah Mansoor are in the squad.

In yesterday’s showdown, France’s Martin Montbarbon and Stephanie Fernandez won men and women Mombasa triathlon events respectively.

Montbarbon clocked 1:13.26 seconds to win in men category while Fernandez timed 1:45.00 seconds. “It was a nice race and it was good to see many Kenyan athletes turning up for the event,” said Montbarton.

Fernanndez said it was her first visit to Kenya and the win was a surprise. “It was fun navigating the tough Indian Ocean waves,” said Fernandez.

Kenya’s Abdallah Mansoor clocked 1:25.34 for second spot while Robert Neijenhuis of The Netherlands came third in 1:36.41.  In Duathlon event, Kenya’s champion Mason Nyangau won in 1:36.46.