Local tri-athlete renders remarkable performance
AMOROSA – Local tri-athlete thrilled with her performance at the South African Championships where she was crowned a champion for the U23 South African elite.
Jodie Berry of Amorosa dished out some outstanding performance at the 2015 Buffalo City ATU Sprint Triathlon African Cup that was held in East London on 1 March.
The 19-year-old received a gold medal for the South African U/23 elite and third position for the senior elite category.
For the African Triathlon Union, this South African champion received a bronze medal.
Completing the course in 1:08:35, secured Berry a third position in the elite women category. To her, this is an outstanding achievement – given that she was competing with athletes older than her.
The whole course itself was no child’s play for this athlete but she said the over 20 hours of training weekly that she dedicates to her athletic career really paid off for her at the championships. “Although I love all three disciplines, my strongest discipline is running. I find that it comes naturally to me. I think having very long legs is also a huge advantage,” joked Berry.
Though she found the bike course to be a bit challenging – she explained that it was quite technical – Berry completed the race one and two seconds ahead of her two predecessors with the 00:35:06 she took to complete. “My cycling has been jolted forward after a very tough training camp in Australia and a new Accelerator bike sponsorship I received from Customized Cycles,” explained Berry on aspects that she believed boosted her performance.
Adding to her great performance and achievement, Berry gave credit to her Czech Republic-based coach, Jan Rehula. “I’m thrilled with what my coach has done for my swimming in the last five months,” added Berry.
Her short-term goal is to start off her first year as an U23 with a bang and accumulate points on the International Triathlon Union points list. “Before the recent championships, I ranked 420 in the world and now I’m at 213,” she said.
Her long-term goal is to centre podium at the U23 world championships in three years’ time and in 2018 she wants to participate in the Commonwealth Games and, ultimately, the Olympics in 2020.
