IN an entertaining showdown at the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck last weekend, South Africa's Kadence Ribbink emerged victorious, shattering her sister Kira's reign as the queen of the course.
Kadence, the younger sibling, has long lived in the shadow of her talented sister, but she has finally stepped into the spotlight, claiming her third gold medal at Troutbeck.
Once upon a time at Troutbeck, junior woman triathlete Kira Ribbink was the torchbearer among her sisters, dominating the Bonaqua Africa Triathlon Cup Troutbeck gold medals.
She won her first gold medal in her first-ever race at the picturesque Eastern Highlands Nyanga Resort in 2020.
Kira's older sister, Kayla, came in second in that race, as the two siblings painted the podium Ribbink with a first and second-place finish. The following year, Kayla left for an American university on a scholarship, and Kira had to race on her own for the first time.
Despite being out of training for a lengthy period and out of school for a month due to sickness, Kira finished three minutes off her previous year's time to claim her second gold at Troutbeck. She exited the Troutbeck junior championships with two gold medals.
Soon it was Kadence's chance to shine. Although she admitted to living in the shadows of her older sister Kira, she went on to match her exploits, claiming two gold medals in 2022 and 2023, respectively, before eventually claiming the Ribbink title at Troutbeck, bowing out with three gold medals.
"I've always been in my sister's footsteps and shadows," Kadence Ribbink said.
"But she's a very good competitor, still competing to this day. And she was very good at this level when she came here, always winning these races. I'm just glad I can keep the title and the name."
Like her sisters, Kadence has raced her last race at Troutbeck and will be joining the great track to America for her studies.
"I'll be racing for the next month, out and about in Africa. Then I'm going overseas to study in America and race for my university team. Hopefully, I'll qualify for the Junior World Champs this year in Australia," she added.
Kadence was happy to exit with a gold medal despite coming in with lesser expectations.
"I didn't have many expectations today because I have been injured quite a bit for the past two months. But today was better than I expected. I had a good swim, a right bike, and just tried my best in the run because my leg's been injured."
Elder sister Kira's outlook ahead of her final race at Troutbeck in 2021 was similar to Kadence's, albeit under different circumstances.
"So I'm definitely coming not at my peak, but I'm hoping to just improve this year, just to improve my time and just to improve on different disciplines."
Kira had been sick at the beginning of the year, leading up to the African Championships in Egypt.
"I couldn't go to school for a month or two, couldn't exercise for a month or two. My blood sugar kept dropping, so I kept fainting every time I exercised."
Despite the challenges, Kira remained mentally strong and went on to win the African Championships in Egypt ahead of her last race at Troutbeck.
"I'm very mentally strong, and I always hold on to that."