African Champ Henri Schoeman Lands a Fifth African Triathlon Title in Swealtering Egypt

African Triathlon Championships, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt – 12 June

In early June Henri Schoeman found himself the center of attention on the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. The place, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The occasion, the Africa Triathlon Championships. 

The Egyptian triathlon federation is known for its hospitality and participants in the continental championships were treated like royalty. Organizers made an extra effort with Henri, rolling out the red (and later, blue) carpet for the South African Champion and Olympic bronze medalist.

“It’s really good to see the growth in African triathlon,” Henri reflected after the event. “There’s so much support and excitement. It’s really growing, especially among the youth.”

The searing dry heat added to the warm welcome and ensured the race would be a true test of form – a worthy winner would emerge from the desert town.

Organizers set the Elite Men’s start for 5.30 am, on Saturday 12 June, to get racing underway before the weather baked competitors and fans to a crisp. The men’s race was all over bar the shouting by 8 am, yet the mercury had already hit 31ºC, although it was certainly hotter on course.

Henri was happy with the dawn start: “We raced very early, which is good prep for Tokyo, it will also be an early race. It’s good to get your body used to respond early in the morning.”

“In the swim I played a tactical game,” said Henri. “I swam behind the guys in the first lap and they switched off the pace, which is when I went through to the front and started breaking things up. On the first section of the bike I pushed it quite hard to break up the field. Jamie Riddle (RSA) and I worked really well together and we could see we were making good time. The others were trying to fight the wind, or go by themselves and by the end of the bike we’d put in about three and a half minutes to the second group. It was really good and I felt in control.”

Things got a little tougher for Henri on the run when he developed a stitch about halfway in: “I was in control on the run in the beginning and got a gap on Jamie, who was doing really great. Just after halfway I had to regroup and Jamie caught me. But I stayed calm and collected and used the time to sort out the stitch with some breathing and ran with him for about a kilometre. About a kay from the finish I felt that he was struggling and decided to go for it.”

Henri powered ahead to claim the championship title.

“It shows that if you believe in yourself, you can still come out on top, and lift yourself through a very challenging situation. I am very proud of myself, winning the race even though things weren’t going great. Five-time African champ – really happy with the sound of that!”