Five triathletes will reach for the stars when they take to the start line at the Isuzu Ironman 70.3 World Championships along the Port Elizabeth beachfront this weekend.
Kicking off on Saturday with the women’s professional and age group races, more than 4,500 athletes are expected to tackle the metro’s famous Ironman course in their bid to become the champions.
The five athletes – Yaseen Abrahams, Yusuf Arendse, Justin Butler, Zolile Mlhahlo and the only female from the Siyaphambili programme to participate, Marsha Wessels – were chosen for the spots through the programme, to have this opportunity of racing against the best.
Programme manager Butler, who joined the programme in 2012 while still a human movement sciences student, said it was aimed at increasing mass participation in the sport for athletes from previously disadvantaged groups.
“At the time, I thought it would be a good idea to get involved in the sport that I was interested in, and I also offered my services in terms of what I had studied,” he said.
He later took over the programme in terms of coaching and managing the group, training them in nutrition and also getting them race-ready.
Butler took on his first Ironman when he joined the programme in 2012, racing the East London 70.3.
Since then, he has done six full-distance Ironman races and will be competing in his 10th 70.3 distance race after the world championship event.
Asked about his thoughts going into the championships, he said: “It feels extremely rewarding to be able to compete at the championships. It’s very humbling to know that all the hard work I have put in over the years has finally paid off.”
About the Siyaphambili representatives, Butler said the athletes chosen to participate were among the group’s top athletes, who had finished consecutive races successfully.
“We internally selected the athletes based on performances from the previous two races leading up to this one, so that would be the 70.3 race in East London and the full Ironman.
“We also used the Durban 70.3 race as a precursor to the championships, with our athletes being able to get in some practice ahead of this race.”
The most experienced member of the five, Wessels started out in 1993, with a short-distance triathlon in Cape Town.
Not knowing how to swim at the time, Wessels did not finish that race, but completed it a year later.
After Saturday’s race, she will have completed 23 Ironman races across both the full and half distance.
She said: “Coming from a previously disadvantaged era, we were training and competing in our own circle as the coloured community, but ‘we will never be able to reach a world championships’ – that was always in the back of our minds.
“However, with [Saturday’s] race, I will be lining up against some legends, and I can say I was there – something the younger generation, especially in my community, can learn from in that anything is possible if you have the right mindset,” she said.
She was first exposed to the Siyaphambili programme after she completed her first full Ironman race in the Bay.
She credits the likes of Paul Wolff, who initiated the programme, for having the belief in the ability of all the athletes in the programme.
“Being part of this team is a massive honour.
“I am one of the older members of the team, but we have been given this opportunity by people like Mr Wolff who believe in us, and we are here with each other every step of the way to finish on that red carpet.”
Heading into the championships, Wessels, a mother of three who spent 28 years in the defence force, said: “Every stroke in the swim, pedal on the bike and stride on the run, I will give it my all, and just go out and enjoy it.”
The Siyaphambili programme, which started in 2005 with just seven athletes, now boasts a group of 30 athletes, all of whom hail from previously disadvantaged groups, Butler said.