Shine Doko emerged the winner of the Men's Open category in the third National Duathlon Championships staged by Triathlon Zimbabwe at Donnybrook Race Track yesterday.
Doko had a good day on the track as he crossed the finish line in the Age Group Men Sprint (Open category) ahead of Roderick Shumba, who finished second.
Ross O'Donoghue and Paul Denslow were tied for third place.
The sprint event consisted of a 5.5km run, a 19.25km bike, and a 2.75km run.
"It was very tough for me because I was racing against the juniors and they are very strong . . . I just tried my best to beat the juniors and come first.
"But that was very difficult.
"It was just my lucky day because it's not easy to race against the juniors," said Doko.
Laura O'Donoghue retained the title in the women's section ahead of Greer Wynn was second.
The duo was the only participant in the women's section.
With the season just starting, the championships also proved to be a platform for the triathletes to gauge their preparedness for the forthcoming events.
Yesterday saw some of the juniors and youth taking to the track, not only to compete for titles but assessing their readiness for this season's programme.
Callum Smith, who represented the country at the African Games in Accra, Ghana, and Africa Championships in Egypt, claimed the title in the Junior Men (Under-17/Under-19) Sprint when beating Stanley Chasakara to second position.
"The race today was very tough. It's been the first race of the season this year as we have been on a very long break since I was in Egypt for the Africa Championships.
"And today it was a very good race, lots of wind and extremely hot, same conditions as Ghana and Egypt, so I was prepared for these conditions.
"I went on a small break after Egypt but I have been training hard through the whole year.
"This is a nice start off. I haven't been doing much swimming but I will get back into my swimming as triathlon season is coming very soon.
But this was a very good platform for starting the triathlon season," said Smith.
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The Youth (Under-13/Under-15) competed in the super-sprint (2.75km run, 11km bike, and 1.3km run) and Zander Botha emerged tops in the boys' section while Rachel O'Donoghue defended the title in the girls category.
"It was a tough race. It was extremely hot. But it helped I had someone to work with on the bike. And it helped because the wind was really strong today, it was a tough race.
"I have had a good two weeks coming into this race but I did get sick a couple of weeks ago which slowed me back a bit. But I am really happy with how I am picking up again.
"I think I could work on my bike a bit more. But I think my run is really good at the moment.
"2024 I want to qualify for the South Africa Junior Nationals and I want to do well in South Africa.
"I think there is a bit of pressure like defending my title there. But I am excited and it's a good race, good competition," said O'Donoghue.
