Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 113, December 2018 | Page 31

MULTISPORT
Olympic
Champ
(Above) Amber with her
mom, Robyn, who inspired
her to give triathlon a try.
Few things will bring you back to reality quicker than flying home from winning a gold medal at the Youth Olympics in
Argentina and going straight into your Grade 11 end-of-year exams. That’s what triathlete Amber Schlebusch had to
overcome upon her return from Buenos Aires in October, but she took it all in her stride. – BY SEAN FALCONER
O
n the day of the telephone interview for this
article, Amber got home from school at
Durban Girls’ College, put in a few hours
of studying for the next day’s History exam, took a
short break for a chat, then went back to her books.
Just another day in the life of an Olympic Champion,
it seems… “The hard part was not so much missing
two or three weeks while we were at the Games, but
all the bits and pieces throughout the year,” says
Amber.
“With all the training, I didn’t have much time for
homework or studying, so I would work during breaks
at school, and I did extra lessons with teachers.
Luckily my school and teachers have been very
understanding and supportive – they’ve kept me
in the loop, and mailed me work – but I have been
realistic about my goals this year. The Youth Olympics
was the focus… next year I will give it a bigger push in
my academics.”
Successful Year
The reason Amber’s school year has been so
disjointed is simple: She has been in terrific form
on the triathlon scene! She started by winning the
KZN Champs and SA Champs in her age category‚
followed by second place in the Tiszaujvaros ETU
Triathlon Junior European Cup in Hungary and third in
the Holten Junior European Cup in the Netherlands,
plus being part of an SA mixed team in a German
relay event. Then came her big win in Argentina, to
cap off a wonderful year for the youngster.
“Winning the KZN and SA Champs was my original
goal for the year, but when I began podiuming
overseas, I actually got a big fright. I didn’t expect
that, as last year I was only 22nd in Tiszaujvaros. At
the Youth Olympics, I really didn’t expect to win, but
after my success in Europe, I was at least hoping for a
top 10, and at best maybe a podium.” the young KZN
star obviously had that a bit wrong…
She exited the water in seventh position, 27 seconds
behind the leaders, and was in eighth position, almost
a minute off the leader after the bike leg, but then
used her running speed to steadily reel in the girls
ahead of her. By the end of the second lap of running,
she was lying third, then caught Switzerland’s Anja
Weber and race leader Sif Bendix Madsen from
Denmark, going on to open an 11-second cushion
and break the tape near to tears with elation.
“When I took second, I could see the leader about
300m ahead, but didn’t think I could catch her with
just a kay to go. I just put my head down and tried
to get close, and when I caught her, I expected her
to latch on to my shoulder, but when I hit the blue
carpet with a hundred metres to go, I couldn’t hear
her, so I looked behind me and saw she was about
10 seconds back. That’s when I knew I had the win.
It was by far the best feeling, but also a huge relief,
because I had worked so hard for that win. Then the
celebrating started!”
suggested I do one of the Tinman events with her. I
did well, and that motivated me to keep going with it.”
Now, with a Youth Olympics gold medal to her name,
Amber is being asked whether she feels ready to
push for the senior Olympics in Tokyo in 2020 – and
the answer is yes. “Tokyo is definitely a goal for me
– maybe not as an individual entrant, but perhaps
in the team race. That’s the next big goal. I’ve been
discussing my schedule for next year with my coach
and my parents, because I’ll need ITU points to qualify
for 2020, so will need to take part in World Cup races.
That will be a big step for me, and I know I will need
to get used to finishing 20th or 30th, because I’ll be
racing against older girls. I’m also going to take a
gap year in 2020 while trying to qualify for Tokyo, and
then we’ll see, but I’m definitely going to study further,
because I will still need something for after triathlon,
even if I do become a pro.”
Combining Talents
Amber’s sporting career began in primary
school with a focus on swimming, but by
high school she had lost interest in that and
decided to try athletics and biathle, quickly
discovering that she had a real talent for
running. “My primary school didn’t have
athletics as a sport, so I hadn’t realised
it before,” she says. “I did biathle at
first, a swim-run, because I was nervous
to go out on the bike, but my mom
did triathlons and when I was 14, she
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