ZIMBABWE-born Netherlands triathlete Rachel Shamiso Klamer made a triumphant debut at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck in Nyanga yesterdayI claiming the gold medal.
KlamerI who was born in Harare 34 years ago edged out Japan's Minori Ikeno into second placeI while her Dutch compatriot Marit Van Den Berg took bronze.
"It is great to be here. It is a beautiful place and people are all so friendly. It is very well organised but the race is very difficult because the altitude here is very high. I come from a very flat countryI so it is very difficultI but it was great. My time here in Zimbabwe was greatI" Klamer told reporters after the race.
"About 34 years ago I was born here in Harare. It's great to be back and I hope a lot of other people come here to race in the future because it's a great place to be."
KlamerI who lived in Nyanga about 30 kilometres from the Troutbeck Resort for three and a half years as a child was excited to return to her roots.
"Because my parents worked here many years agoI so I was only living here for three and half years and then they got back to the Netherlands. And I never really had the chance to come back because this race was always thereI but we always had other races" she added.
"And this year I told my dad who is also here okay we have to go back to Zimbabwe and we also met people from like 30 years agowhich was great because we didn't know if they were still there.
"So it's been great to be here and I'd love to come back more often. And I think you guys might find it kind of funny but my middle name is Shamiso. So yeah some people call me Rachel some people call me Shamie today so it's really fun."
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She was happy with her efforts.
"I really wanted to win today because it's a really small field but also I didn't do as much training as I did in previous years so I wasn't sure if I could go really fast but I'm really happy with the race and I hope to do more fun races this year" said Klamer.
"I was screaming for her (Van Den Berg)I but I was also screaming for the other girls because we're all alone so it's important that we motivate each other because it's just such a small field.
The race was good because I got to swim with another girl. And on the bike I was pushing a bit harder and it was really fun. The bike was okay but the race because the hills are so steep I almost felt like I wanted to run but it was really good."
Meanwhile Zimbabwe's junior woman representative Nicole Madya claimed a bronze medal behind South Africa's Kadence Ribbink and Lotter. However Madya narrowly missed out on an African Championships slot which would have been her final triathlon race.
"It was a very tough race. I actually had a bad swim so I had to try to push on the back and then try to catch up to everybody else after the swim. And on the run I had to push as well but having started off bad it was mentally tough to try to catch up and to push on" Madya said.
"Compared to the last race I did in 2023 I actually got a better time so I guess for selfimprovement I'm happy but in other aspects I'm not really pleased with my race. The qualifying time for Africa Champs I just missed so it's a bit disappointing. I think this is it for meI since Africa Champs would have been my last race as Under because I'm not continuing to try for another race."
In the elite men's raceGreece's Panagiotis Bitados took gold followed by Germany's Valentin Wernz and Paul Georgenthum of France.
Zimbabwe's junior men representatives Callum Smith and Stanley Chasakara finished fourth and fifthI respectively.
