The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
LAST Saturday saw Zimbabwean youngster, George Ascott miss out on the bronze medal by just two seconds at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Junior Cup Troutbeck held at Troutbeck Resort in Nyanga.
Ascott was beaten to the finish line by Namibian Johannes Gerhardus Van Der Westhuizen when the Zimbabwean lad ran out of gas with some metres to go, which saw him finish fourth. The 16-year old Ascott, a form four pupil at Peterhouse was the best finishing Zimbabwean in the junior men’s race which had 12 competitors.
On his debut appearance, Ascott finished better than fellow Zimbabweans, Marcel Paulser and David Knox, who were ninth and eleventh respectively.
Born in the United Kingdom where he spent the better parts of his childhood before coming to Zimbabwe with his parents after a brief period in the Middle East to start his secondary education at Peterhouse, Ascott has always loved sport.
George Ascott running
Ascott started competitive swimming at the age of nine, taekwondo at six reaching the level of green belt before leaving the UK and golf at seven, with his handicap being 12. He enjoys basketball where he is currently in the senior school team, cross country and athletics (mainly 1500 and 3000m). The youngster also enjoys tennis and football and has even tried rugby.
According to his mother, Gail, George fell in love with triathlon while the family lived in the Middle East.
“He has never been pushed to get involved in sport. He fell in love with triathlon whilst he was in the Middle East.
After a trip to France where he watched the Tour de France pass though the South of France, he was instantly became hooked to cycling, then in Qatar he discovered his talent and love for running and cross country.
“His coach encouraged him to take part in his first junior aquathon where he came second in a large field of junior competitors. Due to the extreme weather in Qatar regular competition was a challenge and therefore coming to Zimbabwe with its perfect weather allowed him to accelerate his development in the sport. Peterhouse had an established team of triathletes and a dedicated coach to provide the support, structure and development he needed.
The sport in Zimbabwe is well established and organised and George was welcomed and able to easily adapt and slot in,’’ the mother said.
Over the past four years in Zimbabwe, Ascott has performed exe well at the junior level competition achieving several podium positions in local and regional competitions. The biggest highlight for him was winning gold for his age at the Mauritius Africa Championships held in June 2019.
Last year, Ascott had his sights on winning the SA Championship in March 2020 and participating in the Youth Olympic Games in 2022 but the Covid-19 outbreak in early 2020 put an end to those aspirations. Unfortunately, despite making the selection for the Africa Triathlon Championships held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt in June, Ascott could not attend due to academic commitments in 2021, since he was preparation for mocks and final year end exams for the International General Certificate of Secondary Education.
George Ascott on the bike
Luckily, the postponed Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck was rescheduled to last week. This would give the youngster the opportunity to make his debut in the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Junior Cup Troutbeck.
In the words of the mother, preparation for this event was not easy since he had limited training, with fine tuning not easy since he is preparing for his finals exams.
“As the competition drew closer, George stepped up a gear and increased his swimming sessions with the help of coach Masi based at Peterhouse.
“He also starting working with coach White of Amen Academy for his running and continued to work on his cycle and all round training with his triathlon coach, Dave Gardner. Whilst there was a lot of increased effort and push, we always knew that there was a lot more to do.
As the weekend approached, George continued to prepare as optimally as he could, with his first exams coming up on the 8th October and schools just having reopened, academic commitments extended to afternoon and evening sessions including morning on Saturday to catch up. George’s excitement and nervousness increased. Had he done enough? The list of competitors were finally published, most of them much older than him and some with decent continental rankings and results,’’ recalled the mother.
Heading into last Saturday’s race, Ascott had reasonable expectations. This is what his mother had to say “His debut race! He just wanted a smooth race, no mistakes, no punctures, finish in a respectable position….and then build on from that. Out of the 12 competitors we were hoping for a position between 6th and 8th.”
Ascott was satisfied, while he has some regrets on the way he prepared and decisions he made on the day, Ascott is satisfied with his fourth place finish in the race.
“A top four finish, top Zimbabwe performer. I am satisfied with the outcome, now to what comes next? Exams first, then back to training hard during my “O” level break. Troutbeck February 2022 focus on gold and worlds,’’ Ascott said.
It was certainly a debut to remember for Ascott at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Junior Cup Troutbeck and it is something he will remember for long time to come. _Follow on Twitter @Mdaiwni_29
