It all started with a cycling session for Vicky Holland (Olympic Games bronze medallist in 2016) and Non Stanford (2013 World Triathlon Champion) in the heart of Potchefstroom. Their coach, Glen Cook, saw a rider on the route and asked him for the best cycling and training spots for swimmers. This rider turned out to be Daan de Waal, a user of the Strava route mapping app, whom they were following online before they came to Potch. De Waal suggested they should try out Zoli de Kock’s well-known Aquazone Swim Academy facility and the rest is history.
‘It was completely by chance that we bumped into him. Since then, we have trained here at Aquazone and, for us, it’s been the best facility for swimming training.
‘I’d heard about Potch from the endurance world and we know a couple of runners who had good things to say about this city. We wanted a place where we could have warm weather and a bit of altitude. We have been here for one week and it has been awesome,’ said Holland.
This is Stanford’s second time in Potchefstroom, having been to the city previously as a 15-year-old in 2004, with British athletics legend, Kelly Holmes, who brought a group of upcoming athletes to South Africa from the UK.
According to these two athletes, it is hard to differentiate between one’s expectations and aspirations for the Commonwealth Games as both were injured during the past year.

‘I hope to step up, having been to three major championships. From experience, I’ve learnt how hard it is to perform at your best when the pressure is on. My aspiration is to, once again, bring a Commonwealth Games medal home but my expectation is very much that I will take every day as it comes,’ added Holland.
Stanford concurred with Holland that she would also like to bring home a medal, especially after missing the previous Commonwealth Games in 2014 due to injury.
Training is also taken to a near art form for these professional athletes who train for approximately 30 hours per week.
‘Cycling takes up the most of our training as triathletes, at about 15 hours; then we also swim, run and do a lot of gym work. It is really important for us to also get good medical care and Eben Verster (physiotherapist) has been wonderful to us,’ stated Holland.
‘We are really lucky that triathlon is thriving in the UK. It’s really big. A lot of this has to do with the Brownlee brothers’ success in triathlon and, on the women’s side, the current triathletes like me and Vicky have done well as a collective. It really has been a golden era and we hope we can inspire a lot of young girls to follow in our footsteps and also aspire to reach their potential,’ added Stanford.
‘Helen Jenkins was a triathlete whom I looked up to and I feel that she set the greatest example for us as triathletes,’ said Holland.
She and Stanford also believe that triathlon is booming in the UK because of the excellent routes and paths away from the main roads. The raw facilities are already in place although the weather is horrible for training on most days.
‘If you can get your head around training in difficult weather and training through winter, then you get yourself mentally tough. I think this is one of the reasons why British triathletes constantly perform,’ explained Stanford.
These two world-class athletes also had a final bit of advice for young triathletes or athletes who would like to take up triathlon. ‘You have to have a lot of motivation and not be afraid to be a little bit crazy. Patience is also important. Work hard, be mentally strong and, most importantly enjoy it.’

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