Putting skills to test

Bahrain’s new endurance team is taking the plunge into the triathlon season openers this weekend. Athletes from all over the world are taking part.

This time last year everyone was confined indoors, forced to train and compete virtually. There is genuine excitement at the prospect of real racing and the first opportunity to test the success of each individual’s winter training schedule.

First up will be one of the ‘originals’ from the formation of Shaikh Nasser’s Bahrain Endurance 13 team in 2015 – Daniela Ryf.

Despite having won her first World Title (70.3) in 2014, it was the following year that she shot to global prominence by claiming the million dollar bonus from the Nasser Bin Hamad Triple Crown Series. She will open her 2021 account at the Dubai Ironman 70.3.

Ryf is the only woman to have ever defended the 70.3 World Championship title (half Ironman) while she set a new record in 2018 with her fourth consecutive Ironman World Title (full distance).

Known as one of the quickest courses on the global circuit, Dubai will present Ryf with an opportunity of a fast start as she aims to repeat her 2015 success.

His Majesty King Hamad’s representative for humanitarian work and youth affairs and Supreme Council for Youth and Sport chairman Shaikh Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa has, once again, offered the million dollar bonus that will culminate at the race in Bahrain later in the year.

Imagine the excitement should she – or anyone else – claim the opener and the World Championship!

Also competing in Dubai is David Plese, the Slovenian international who now calls Bahrain home. Regularly spotted training around Zallaq, the former national basketball champion and law school graduate will be hoping to start the season with a bang.

A welcome addition to the Bahrain team is the inspirational Lauren Parker. The Australian decided to turn professional as a triathlete after finishing second in her age-group at the Ironman World Championship in 2015. However, a freak cycling accident in 2017 broke her spine – but not her spirit. A year later she secured a bronze medal for Australia at the Commonwealth Games in the paratriathlon while also claiming third place in the world final six weeks after undergoing a spinal surgery.

Shaikh Nasser couldn’t have found a more motivated athlete to introduce the world of paratriathlon to his team.

If we needed a reminder of the challenges still being posed by Covid-19, look no further than the difficulties faced by another Bahrain Endurance 13 original – Jan Frodeno. His last outing in October 2019 involved setting a record at Kona, the elite world championship race that every triathlete strives to just qualify for. Heading towards the Miami Speedway and an eagerly awaited battle with Canada’s Lionel Sanders, Frodeno was turned back at the airport as the race organisers had failed to obtain him a travel exemption that would circumvent the entry requirement of mere mortals.

If there is one person who has demonstrated his durability, it is this Olympic Gold medallist (2008) and multiple world champion. Expectations are high that he will start his season successfully.

From Mooloolaba to Miami, Bahrain will be cheering on its new team as they push their bodies to the limit.