We are delighted to announce that triathlon will be included in the 2011 All-Africa Games. Triathlon will share the programme with twenty other sporting events, including the three component disciplines of triathlon: swimming, cycling and athletics.

“The preparation for and participation in the 2011 All-Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique, will offer a realistic opportunity for the African Triathlon Union to develop the sport of triathlon and duathlon on the continent,” said Liesbeth Stoltz, President of the African Triathlon Union. “With a sustainable development initiative of athletes and officials, triathlon will remain on the All-Africa Games calendar.”

The build up to and participation in the 2011 All-Africa Games will give the opportunity for the ATU to change the perception of triathlon from just a sport to a major sport across Africa.

“The All-Africa Games is probably the biggest sporting event in Africa. The games which brings together all the young people still remains the greatest spectacle and unifying force in the continent,” said Lanre Glover, President of the Nigerian Triathlon Union, and the member of the ATU Executive Board with responsibilities for getting Triathlon into the All-African Games.  “It is indeed a thing of great joy to be part and parcel of the movement to get triathlon in All-Africa Games. Great credit goes to Dr Carlos de Sousa, the Vice Minister for Sports in Mozambique.  With the inclusion of triathlon in the 2011 games, we are likely to see triathlon grow in leap and bounds in Africa.”

Maputo is the capital city of Mozambique, is on the warm Indian Ocean.  With its tropical climate it offers a perfect venue for triathlon events.  Bordering South Africa and Zimbabwe, and close to the Indian Ocean Islands of Mauritius and Madagascar, it is close to the present hub of triathlon in sub-Saharan Africa.