Families embrace triathlon as perfect sport for bonding

Owaga, 50, is well aware of the pressure that comes with trying to strike the balance between work and family, and has taken up active sport, triathlon (multi-event sport featuring swimming, cycling and running) to be specific, to help to realise life-work alignment.

The father of three is an avid triathlete and uses the sport to bond with family and to also stay fit and maintain his demanding schedule at the national carrier.

“We, as pilots, generally say that once you have qualified and joined an airline, they employ your licence more than yourself. And our licence is kept not only on our technical proficiency but our health,” he explains after winning the team event at the Shujaa Triathlon competition in Diani earlier this month.

“We go through regular medical check-ups, and at a certain age, you have to go through medical check-ups every six months, just to verify that you are fit and healthy. So I need to keep fit and healthy because that’s how I’ll keep my job going.”

Owaga teamed up with his two sons - Issa Joseph Owaga (21) and Hawi Wekesa Awuor (17) – under the team name “Mighty Mice” to win the ‘Olympic Team Event’ at the Shujaa Triathlon championships with a cumulative time of two hours, 53 minutes and 17 seconds in the competition that featured 1.5-kilometre swim, 40 kilometres cycling and 10-kilometre run segments.

His wife Anita and 14-year-old daughter Zenani were the critical support system for the boys during the Diani competition.

“Over time, it becomes more and more challenging to find ways of spending time together as a family, especially as people grow up and interests of the elder members of the family differ from what the younger members of the family want to do,” Owaga explains.

“However, given that we are all interested in sport, we found a way where we could work together and spend family time together, not only on the race alone, because to prepare for the race, you will always share on what you are doing and even agreeing on which event will be covered by who so that we build on the element of teamwork in the family.”

And that’s how they embraced the triathlon with Owaga Senior doing the swimming leg, Issa the cycling and Hawi the 10km run at the Shujaa Triathlon held on December 1 at the Nomad Beach Resort in Diani, Kwale County.

“I’m not the strongest of swimmers, but we were able to draw on our strengths. With my older son being very active in cycling, he did the cycling leg and as his brother was away in high school and didn’t have enough time to train, we picked an event that would be easy for him to practice while in school and so he did the run.”

Owaga was fifth overall in the 1.5km swim with a time of 37 minutes and 23 seconds while Issa clocked one hour, 10 minutes and 33 seconds on the bike and was second overall with Hawi completing the 10km run in 1:03:24 for third place overall, their cumulative time earning them the top position in the team event.

“My wife Anita was also there, alongside our daughter Zenani, supporting us and spent endless hours with the kids at their various swimming meets training us as they grew up,” the Captain notes.

Triathlon future

Samuel Nderitu, a Nairobi-based psychologist, took the individual ‘Olympic Distance’ title at the Shujaa Triathlon after winning the swim leg in 24 minutes and 54 seconds, coming in fifth in the 40-kilometre cycling and also finishing (1:24:38) and taking the lead in the 10km run in 52:40 for a cumulative winning time of 2:45:49.

“It’s hard balancing work and triathlon training, but I try and schedule my work sessions from around 10am to 3pm so that in the mornings and evenings I can put in some training,” Nderitu said.

“Triathlon is a very mental thing. Training myself mentally in this endurance sport is very important. There are times your body feels like giving up, but I’ve had to use techniques on myself to maintain a consistent tempo.”

In recent times, triathlon’s development has been on a steady rise with the Diani competition attracting 170 competitors across various categories namely Individual Sprint Distance, Olympic Distance and Middle Distance.

“We have held various events throughout the year and our next event is in Karen next March,” says James Waweru, a member of the event’s organisers, Team Tri Fit Kenya.

“We are hoping to have more events next year at Tatu City, Chale Island and finally, Diani again in December. In between, we have athletes taking part in other triathlons in South Africa, Rwanda, Asia and Europe.

“The future of the triathlon is very bright… from 10 to 20 athletes per event in 2016, we have grown to over 150 per event and we hope to eventually host and run larger events, including ironman triathlons.”

Kenya Triathlon Federation Secretary General Salonik Ole Koyiet, a coast-based teacher, is optimistic about the sport’s future, underscoring its importance in the all-round development of children and assuring of the federation’s commitment to helping event organisers get international certification.

“Triathlon develops discipline in young children. Taking part in three events and obeying all the rules helps build resilience in children. It’s a sport that should be encouraged in public schools,” he notes.

Family bonding

Owaga, meanwhile, sees the triathlon as a great way of spending family time, not only instantaneously in a competition, but also throughout preparation.

“I found that I’ve moved to more individual sports where you are on your own and you only have yourself to bank on during the day of an event. So at the moment, I’m actively into running, cycling and swimming.

“As you prepare for the race, you have a common topic you can share, on how you are preparing, how you expect to do and even after the race, you can then set new goals for yourselves as a family.

“I’ve always been a sporty fellow through school... I found that sports is a very good way of expressing yourself, of socialising and of developing certain character traits like resilience and perseverance. And so at an early stage in my life I decided that all my children have to pick up a sport and the rule in the house is ‘you pick a sport or I pick it for you.’ So my children grew up with sport, initially primarily depending on the school they went to.

“I find sport part and parcel of education and growing up. Sport generally allows you to draw a parallel between effort and result and also allows you to push yourself to new dimensions that you probably feel you can’t do, not only in sport but also in other things in daily life.”

“As a family, it’s important to tap into what you find your child enjoying and find a way of joining into it so that you have a common ground and a common place to share and communicate on.”

Alice Ng’ang’a entered the team event at Diani with her children Mohammed Omar (24) and Ibrahim Omar (22), finishing sixth overall in the ‘Olympic Distance Team’ event under the “Team Kerugoya” banner.

Like Owaga, the 51-year-old mother of four, who recently retired from an advertising agency, sees the triathlon as an appropriate sport for family bonding.

“I have been doing sport since I was very young and even when I worked at the agency, I would travel outside the country at least twice a year mountaineering,” she says.

“Travelling to Diani for the triathlon was the most amazing bonding time with the boys… we would get to the kitchen together, make breakfast, lunch and dinner together.

“I would really encourage parents to bond with their children through sports, even if it means going for walks together. The stories we share out doing sports are not the same as the dinner table stories at home. Conversations are deeper.”

At the Diani Triathlon, Ibrahim, a former Kenya international swimmer, was top in the 1.5-kilometre swim (29 minutes, 55 seconds) with Mohammed battling to seventh in the 40km cycling leg (2:02:46) and their mother Alice covered the 10-kilometre run in 1:12:59 for sixth place.

“Sport has shaped my character because the discipline of having to wake up at 4am to hit the pool also applies in work, school and meeting timelines,” Mohammed explains, and his brother Ibrahim concurs: “Sports helps me relax… I feel no stress at all when I play sports.”

Alice, a mother of four whose other children – daughters Nina (16) and Melissa (14) – are also actively involved in sport, leaves this week for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays to Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam with her husband Robert Ng’ang’a and the children with multiple sports events very much on their programme.

“I told all of them to pack their sports shoes and swimming costumes for the trip,” says Alice who runs the “Climber’s Edge”, an online shop specialising in rock and mountain climbing gear.

The Shujaa Triathlon was sponsored by, among others, Isuzu East Africa, Dairyland, Nomad Beach Resort, law firm Walter Kontos, Tropical Heat, Kristel Communications, ORS Rehydration Salts and Highlands Mineral Water.

Sponsors Isuzu East Africa’s corporate team of Samuel Okute, Purity Mbuthi and Mona Ogetange was also impressive, bagging second place in 01:38:42 in the ‘Team Sprint’ competition behind winners Team Bravo comprising Priyal Shah, Paul Downey, M. Vandam who were timed at 01:38:42.

The Individual Sprint event winner Tom Morton (01:21:41) was happy with the competition’s organisation by Team Tri Fit Kenya saying it was a major boost to the sport.

“This was a great event organised by Team Tri Fit Kenya and the most important thing is we are getting more people involved in triathlon,” Morton quipped after the competition.

Event director Michael Owora says the triathlon competition’s main aim is to raise the profile of the sport across the continent while also showcasing rich heritage and boosting sports tourism.

“The journey has been amazing and we look forward to taking it further next year… there will be a shift from the norm as we will allow you to pre-book your race slots for Team Tri Fit Kenya-managed races through our online registration portal,” he announced.