Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 50, September 2013 | Page 8

In the Lead

At 16, most teens are hanging out at the mall on weekends while focusing on their exams at the end of the school year, but young biathle, duathlon and triathlon star Robyn-Leigh Jones juggles all the ins and outs of being a teenager and studying for high school while also competing all over the globe. – BY LAUREN VAN DER VYVER

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fter coming stone-last at a compulsory school cross-country event when she was in grade four, Robyn-Leigh’s father gave her some valuable advice: Never stop trying, and never stop improving. He was a runner himself, while her mom was a swimmer back in the day, and soon Robyn-Leigh’s obvious sporting genes came to the fore. “I started getting better as a runner, then started getting into biathle two years after that, and in my grade seven year I got into the provincial and national team,” she says. (Biathle consists of run, swim and run legs.) Robyn-Leigh says her ?rst taste of international competition was hard. “Getting into international competition was more about experience at the beginning. It was de?nitely scary! The athletes were bigger and there was a huge gap between us South Africans and Europe.” But she says she learnt everything she could and trained harder, and so, having come ?rst in the Central Gauteng Biathle Champs

ITU Duathlon World Championships in Canada. She also ?nished ?fth overall in the 2013 ATU Triathlon Championships held in East London in March, and was chosen to compete in the ATU Triathlon African Champs held in Agadir, Morocco, where she won the bronze medal in the women’s junior race. Then in June, she placed fourth overall at the SA Biathle Champs after just recovering from the ?u she picked up in Morocco. At the time of going to print, Robyn-Leigh had just travelled to Istanbul for the ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup, where she placed 9th, followed by the Tiszaujvaros ETU Triathlon Junior European Cup in Hungary. These races are traditionally used by athlet W2g&????&?V?BF?Rv?&?BF?&W&Rf?"F?R?ERv?&?B6?????6??2?v??6?v???&R?V?B??6WFV?&W"?????F???&?'????V?v??2F?W2f?&Vv??RF?R??'GV??G?F?&6R??F?RGVF????v?&?B6??2??ff?W"?bvWGF??r&WGFW"W??7W&R??F?RWW&?V?G&?F????&6W2?B?76?&?P?&?'????V?v?&VG?F??fb???B?W"&??R&Vf?&R?W"'V??Vr??BF?RERGVF????g&?6?6??2???F6???v?BF?vWBF?R&W7V?G2?BF?RW??7W&R??v?BF?vWB???R?WBF?W&R?v???R&??#b?2?VvR6???( ???&R&W&VBf?"??F???rF?B6??W2?v????7B?V"?B??'7B??F?R46??2?6?Rv26V?V7FVBF?&W&W6V?B6?WF?g&?6BF?R&?F??Rv?&?B6?????6??2??GV&???#"?v?W&R6?R?6VB6V6??B???W"vR6FVv?'????6?W6?????F?R4v?&?B7W7VB?v???RvWGF??rv??B??F?6F????bv?W&R6?R&??2???w7BF?Rv?&?N( ?2&W7B???W"vRw&?W?( ?v?BF?vWBF?R&W7V?G2?BF?RW??7W&R??v?BF?vWB???R?WBF?W&R?( ?6?R6?2?( ?v???R&??#b?2?VvR6???( ???&R&W&VBf?"??F???rF?B6??W2?v??( ??W7F&?6?VB7F ?F?F?&?'????V?v??2?66???6?VB7F"??&?F?&?F??R?BGVF?????'V??&??R?'V????B&V6V?F???fVB??F?G&?F?????7v???&??R?'V??2vV???v???R6?R6?26?R?2???WG&?v?Bff?W&?FRF?66???R?6?R?2&V??V??????r?W"'V????r??&R26?R?2??&?f??r???W"7VVB??BF??2?V"?F?B7VVB?V?VB?W"????6?6V6??B??F?R?F6?Vg7G&???ERGVF????g&?6?6?????6??2?v??6?6r?W"6V?V7FVBf?"F?R4FV???VwW7N( ?2?GFv????F???rF?R?&B?&G0?f?"??V?r&?F??WFR??R&?'????V?v??F?W&R?6?( ?B?V6???'GV??G?f?"??&??FVV?vR( ?6????F??R?( ???F?RvVV??6?RF6??W2???W"????r'V???F?RgFW&????gFW"66????( 27FVG?V??F?v??( 2?BF?V?7V?G2gW'F?W"Gv???W'2gFW"F?B??F?R????FWV?F??r??F?R6V6???v??6??6?6VW2?W"F???r7V6???26W76???2f? ????vW3?6?W'FW7?F''?????W2bF??V???W70??W6???r??F?R&??R?VrBF?RUERG&?F?????V???"7W???7F?'V???55TRS4UDT?$U"#2?wwr???FW&?F??WFR?6?????