Top Stellenbosch triathlete and business owner at Stellenbosch Triathlon Squad (STS) Vicky van der Merwe is on the comeback after a break after her son was born. She will be competing at the Woolworths X TRI off-road triathlon in Elgin on Saturday 4 December.
In the last two years 32-year-old athlete has added wife and mother to her roles.
Van der Merwe is a familiar face on podiums across the country and internationally, and she is now focused on her return to competitive racing in short course triathlon since the birth of her son Adriaan in February 2021.
She says being both a mom and an elite athlete has given her a new perspective. “The amazing thing is one has to make every session count, as every opportunity to train is time away from the family. One has to be so intentional with one’s time. I love it. I always knew that I would return to racing, but I did not have a clear plan. It was my first pregnancy and I had planned a natural birth, and then I had to have an emergency c-section at 37 weeks – one really can’t plan these things!
“I threw myself in the deep end with training four or five weeks after Adriaan’s birth, and started slowly building up.”
Three months later she went to the Africa Champs, claiming fifth place despite not having a great race. She felt optimistic about re-establishing her place as one of the top female South African triathletes.
Since returning to competition with the 2021 Africa Champs, Van der Merwe has won the Walker Bay Xtreme Big 6, the Torpedo SwimRun (she holds the record), the Caveman Triathlon, the African X Trail Run, and recently the 2022 Cape Town Triathlon.
She said she loves racing and with a few more years of competitive racing ahead her immediate focus is on the Woolworths X TRI the off-road triathlon on 4 December at Paul Cluver Family Wines Wines in Elgin.
“I find mixing it up a bit with off-road triathlon is good for me as an athlete, and the WW X TRI is perfect for triathletes like myself looking to cross-train and test themselves in different disciplines. I will for sure be looking to stand on the top step of the podium, but this event really hits the mark for family fun as well, with a Lite event plus fun trail runs and a shorter walk.”
Asked if her goal is to qualify for the Paris Olympics, Van der Merwe is hesitant to confirm. “You obviously have to be in the top two or three in the country, and we have some very strong women athletes. Because I’ve been out of it for so long I have set myself small goals, with SA Champs being my next big one in March next year.”
With some confusion for the layperson about what constitutes a triathlon Van der Merwe sums it up as a triathlon is any race involving a swim, a cycle and a run. “There is off-road triathlon where the Xterra World Championships is the highest honours, then Ironman, full and half, that are more focused on endurance, and the world championship in Kona, Hawaii is the big goal. Then there is the Olympic Triathlon which is my discipline, and I prefer the sprint or short course, which is a 750 m swim, 20 km cycle and 5 km run. Standard Olympic Triathlon distances are 1,5 km swim, a 40 km bicycle ride and a 10 km run.”
As someone who was National and African Junior Triathlon champ when in high school, she has triathlon in her veins, and beneath the fun and bubbly personality is a fierce competitor who juggles being a wife and mom, businessperson, coach and an athlete.
Get to Paul Cluver Family Wines in Elgin on 4 December for the WW X TRI to catch Van der Merwe in action and support the work of the Woolworths Trust, beneficiary of all proceeds from the event. For more information and to enter visit www.wwxtri.co.za.
