Mari on Her Tunisian Gold

Mari Rabie on her way to Olympic Games qualification, and a gold medal in the 2008 Yasmine Hammamet ATU Triathlon African Championships, in Tunisia on Saturday. Picture courtesy the ITU.

South Africa’s Mari Rabie won the 2008 Yasmine Hammamet ATU Triathlon African Championships in Tunisia on Saturday, and talks about her excitement at the sport’s development in Africa, and her chances of seeing Olympic action Beijing later this year.

Thoughts on the race?

"First of all I was really excited to race in Tunisia and I think the race is really well organized. It was cold and windy as I like it because it’s tough. I’ve been sick for two weeks so I wasn’t sure how it would go.

My swim was a bit off from where it used to be but the plan was just to go head down from the start. Then on the bike I felt really good, I think I got off two minutes off the chasing pack which was four or five girls.

Then on the run I was just working hard to keep that gap and make it bigger and bigger so I felt really good. To come back from a really bad season last year, I’m really happy with how things are going."

Are the Olympic Games the big goal for 2008?

"Hopefully the Olympic Games will be the main target for the year and I also want to have some good World Cup races this year, so (coach) Libby (Burrell) and I have been working hard, and we’ve done some changes.

I’m training with Erhard Wolfaardt, who came second in the men’s today. I think I’m much more focused and relaxed than what I was last year, and I think that’s the difference and you can see it in my racing."

Thoughts on the Olympic qualifying process?

"Unfortunately South Africa doesn’t have selection criteria so we’ve got two spots now. But it still depends on our Olympic Committee if they will send a triathlon team or not. At the moment we don’t know, and will only know after World Championships in June.

So all we can do is be as fit we can and race and prepare as though you are going to the Olympic Games, and then we’ll just have to wait and see what the authorities decide. I think if I can have some good World Cup results, it can justify me racing at the Olympic Games.

But in South Africa there’s a lot of other factors that also decide what team they will send, and we’ll just have to wait and see what they decide."

What’s next for you?

"I’m going back home for two weeks to put some hard training in, then I’ll do Mooloolaba and New Plymouth, and then Madrid, then my next race will be World Championships."

Thoughts on having the African championships in Tunisia?

"I think it was a really good thing. I was really excited coming here. I think it’s essential for the sport to grow in Africa to have it outside of South Africa, because Africa is a massive continent. I know some people were a bit skeptical about coming here, but I thought it was awesome; the event was really well organized today. Hopefully in the future we can see more races in North Africa. It will be good to see the sport grow here.

Even today in the racing, it was the probably the most exciting African Championships I’ve seen with the type of racing going on, especially with the boys having a big pack and the girls in big packs; normally that would never happen in an African Championships. So I think also having it in northern Africa brings in some Europeans, which makes it more competitive and more exciting."