Namibian triathlete, Abrahm Louw won the U23 category of the African Triathlon Championships held recently in Maputo, Mozambique.
Louw, who broke away to go solo on the bike and built the daunting lead over the combined fields, comfortably won the U23 title but also finished third overall in the Elite Men's category.
Windy conditions forced the swim leg of the race to be shortened to 1 200m. Louw was in the pack that got out of the water first along with Moroccan Mehdi Essadiq, Jeff Norton from South Africa and Valery de Falbaire from Mauritius.
Louw, racing the classic 51.5km distance in the U23 category for the first time, broke away with his super-quick transition and escaped on the hilly, technical bike route alone.
In the 5km, eight-lap course, the highest peak was 49m high at the halfway mark. Louw kept powering down the hill every lap to gain the advantage, which sent spectators into a cheering frenzy, and this allowed the 19 year old to open a 2 minute 40 second gap at the end of the bike route.
However, South African Robert Murray, who recently conquered a tough field at the 2011 Brasschaat ITU Triathlon Premium European Cup, was too strong, and the 2:40 advantage was not enough for Louw. Murray, joined by Hendrik de Villiers, passed the young hopeful just before the final lap on the run.
As a result, Murry won the race with De Villiers, who was the 2008 African champion, second in the elite category of the race.
Seven countries took part in the African Championship: Soth Africa, Mauritius, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Morroco and Egypt.
In the women’s race Kate Roberts from South Africa won the elite category while Fabienne Aline St Louis from Mauritius won the U23 category.