Local para-triathletes claim their well-deserved wins
Heinrich Vermaak and his guide, Jefferson Murdoch, were the only athletes representing SA in the visually impaired category in the 2023 Africa Triathlon Championships in Egypt.
After receiving an invitation to participate in the African Para-Triathlon Championships in Egypt on October 14, Brackenhurst’s Heinrich Vermaak and his guide, Jefferson Murdoch, made the country proud.
The duo recently made their international debut, returning home with two silver medals after their impressive second-place finish. This feat comes after earlier being invited to participate in the Africa Triathlon Champs together with Para Olympic bronze medallist Gavin Kilpatrick, who could not attend due to illness.
Vermaak said this was a fantastic experience because they reached their target of competing in an international event.
“We had a clean race, avoiding any time penalties and earning many world triathlon ranking points.”
He said the achievement would not have been possible without the help of some important people.
“Gavin has been there, training with me since day one for the past four years. He couldn’t participate in the Africa Champs due to illness, but he didn’t stop. He took up the role of coaching me. Our local biokineticist, Tyla van der Spuy, who practices in Alberton where we live, has supported us through the year, ensuring that we’re ready for the intense daily training,” Vermaak explained.
He reiterated that Van der Spuy improved the performance of his muscle groups, which helped increase his power output, especially on the bike.
Joint effort yields feat
Vermaak’s guide, Murdoch, made the Africa Champs a possibility for him for the first time in four years.
As a visually impaired triathlete, he said it is challenging to find someone willing to share your dreams.
“The guide does not get the recognition they deserve, and Jeff puts this aside to help me. Jeff has helped, along with Gavin, to push me to the level I need to be to race competitively. He has also done more than expected to get our campaign out there and help get the funding,” he said.
He thanked everyone who showed their support to get to Egypt and for giving them the encouragement to carry on.
Murdoch said Egypt was a great learning curve in their campaign and, “It was fantastic to represent SA as a guide to Heinrich.
“It was also special meeting other para-athletes who compete with different disabilities. In our event, we raced hard against the Egyptian team (visually impaired athlete and his guide). They were first out of the water, and then we caught them on the cycle leg, but they had a good run and took gold. They were strong competitors,” he explained.
Murdoch reiterated that they will continue to explore funding options and sponsorships as they set their sights on the ultimate goal of the Commonwealth Para Games in 2026. They are now taking a short rest and will then prepare for the SA Champs in March.
