After sealing African titles, triathlete Vicky van der Merwe eyes Olympic qualification

JOHANNESBURG – Vicky van der Merwe, a triathlete from Stellenbosch, continues to fly South Africa’s flag high.

Van der Merwe dominated at the 13th African Games in Accra, Ghana where she snatched the gold medal and went on to dominate at the 2024 Africa Triathlon Cup in Swakopmund in Namibia.

"I'm really happy with my performance and proud to have won a gold medal for South Africa. It was an interesting race, with the swim leg being in a pool and not open water like it usually is. Although the bike route was flat, it was quite technical and you had to stay focused throughout. The run was three laps, with each lap going around a tartan track, which I loved. It was my first African Games and a wonderful experience with Team South Africa."

Talking to Eyewitness News, she pointed out that though she collected points at the African Games, the competition wasn’t an Olympic selection race.

"I earned a lot of Olympic points, which is always good, especially as I missed the first year of our Olympic Qualification period as I had a baby. Although this race was very important, it wasn't one of our selection races."

The triathlon was added to the Olympic programme at the Sydney 2000 Games.

The elite athlete said it’s not always easy to balance training and family, but she tries to be intentional about everything she does.

"It's not always easy and my days are very full, but I try to be intentional whether it's at training, with my family or at work. I try to stay focused and fully present in every moment. For me, balance is key. It's the busiest time of my life with a two-year-old boy, running a business and training for the Olympics, but it's also the happiest, most productive and focused that I've ever been."

Van der Merwe used to swim as a youngster and was one of the top 10 athletes at an inter-house meet when she was selected to also run and the rest is history.

"In high school, we had an inter-house athletics meet and it went well.  At the end of the meet, the top 10 athletes in the school based on a points system were announced and I was one of them. We were going to a big school athletics meet in Bloemfontein, so I had to start training for running.

"I soon realised that I was a better runner than a swimmer, but didn't want to stop swimming, so decided to rather add cycling and then do triathlon. I did my first triathlon at the age of 14 and never looked back."

The athlete is, among other things, a 2023 double African Triathlon champ in the sprint and Olympic distances, African Games champ, a three-time World Biathlete champ. She won the 2022 Africa Champs, she has won the Walker Bay Xtreme Big 6, the Torpedo SwimRun, the Caveman Triathlon, and the African X trail run.

"Next weekend is the SA Olympic distance champs and I'm hoping for another really strong race to end off a busy but great racing block. Then our focus moves to trying to qualify our SA team for the Olympic Games Mixed Team Relay event in Mexico in May."

She tells Eyewitness News that we have so much talent in South Africa and she would like for triathlons to be more accessible for more people.

"I'd also like to see more mentoring of athletes, something I am passionate about."

On how she protects her mental health as an elite athlete, she said that age and experience played a huge role in how she handles any pressure.

"I think because I'm a bit older and more experienced, I'm in a very good mental space and I don't put as much pressure on myself as I used to when I was younger. Triathlon is what I do but it's not who I am... it's just a part of my life. That's where I'm thankful for my family and business as it brings me balance and perspective."