Henri crowned African champ

DURBAN North triathlete Henri Scheoman won his third Troutbeck Africa Champs (previously Troutbeck Africa Cup) in Zimbabwe recently. Incredibly his preparation for the event was dominated by travel, not only did he endure a 15 hour flight from New Zealand (after a race) to Durban but he also travelled a further 1 595 km to Harare for the championships.

“I did spend a lot of time travelling between events but as a professional athlete you’ve got to overcome the odds and man-up. I was really chuffed with grabbing first place. It’s a race I’ve won for the past two years, under a different name of course, but it’s just a wonderful feeling,” he said.

His preparations, besides the travelling aspect, were further hampered by injuries to his knee and ankle. The 23-year-old is now gearing up for his second International Triathlon Union (ITU) world series event, this time in Cape Town.

“The win in Zimbabwe was a super confidence booster. Being able to finish ahead of two pedigree athletes like Richard Murray and Wian Sullwald was amazing. With this race being on home soil I would like to finish in the top 10. There are some things that I am going to work hard at and improve for the next race,” he said.

The former Oakridge College pupil said he wanted to finish as close to 10th in the world rankings in the ITU series.

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