ZIMBABWE elite triathlete Andie Kuipers has set her sights on breaking into the world’s top 180 ranked athletes by year-end as she maps out a calculated campaign to qualify for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Kuipers garnered crucial ranking points in her endeavour to qualify for the LA28 Olympics after a spirited fifth place finish at a recent Africa Triathlon Sprint Championships in Mauritius.
Speaking in an exclusive interview, Kuipers, currently ranked 225th in the world said she would need to collect points at two key upcoming races to hit her target.
“By the end of this year, my goal is to be within the top 180 in the world. I’m 225th now, so if I were to score points at Derry, Ireland and Africa Champs, I would tick that box,” she told NewsDay Sport.
The Africa Triathlon Championships in October, which carries double points, is the centrepiece of her 2026 calendar.
She will also compete at a European Cup in Derry and potentially an Asian Cup later in the year.
Before those points races, Kuipers will race in the French Grand Prix in Besancon, a competition that offers no ranking points but exposes her to elite European competition in a team format she says will sharpen her ahead of continental assignments.
“It’s a really, really high level. It’s a good bridging gap for me from racing in the smaller continental fields in Africa to racing in Europe and potentially a World Cup,” Kuipers added.
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Looking further ahead, Kuipers said her 2027 programme would include African Cups, Oceania Cups and the African Championships, with a World Cup appearance targeted for the end of that year.
On preparation, Kuipers said a 12-week high-volume, lower-intensity training block ahead of her most recent race had produced noticeable results, particularly on the bike leg where she had expected to struggle.
“My coach said that I’m the strongest I’ve been and I just trusted him and it worked out,: she said.
She identified the swim as her most critical area of improvement going into France, saying she needed to exit the water with the front group to be competitive.
Kuipers also highlighted her role in growing the sport in Zimbabwe, expressing hope that junior athlete Rachel O’Donoghue, who recently began competing, would follow in her footsteps and that the country could field a mixed relay team at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
She paid tribute to Olympic Solidarity funding facilitated by the Zimbabwe Olympic Committee, saying the support had been the difference between pursuing triathlon professionally and not pursuing it at all.
“When I was 18 it just wasn’t an option for me to be doing this. I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in without Olympic Solidarity,” she said.
