Michael Owora guides a woman who’d been stretching and warming up for the last 20 minutes to the treadmill and slowly increases the pace as she builds momentum. The woman seems to be in her late 30s and she’s joined Coach Michael’s gym to train for a triathlon. The gym, Team Tri Fit, is located in Nairobi and it’s one factor behind Kenya’s growing love for Triathlon.
Michael has always been interested in athletics but his involvement in triathlons began, as he describes it, by accident. His professional career was in a family business offering PR services to Kenya’s elite. A childhood friend who was also his roommate in university in South Africa became a triathlete and Michael offered to do some PR work for him.
“I wanted to do branding for him, transform this skinny Asian boy of Kenyan descent into the ambassador for triathlons in Kenya. We built him as an endurance athlete and promoted triathlons in Kenya along the way. In my quest to be a good friend I decided to train with him, just to support him. We need to go immerse ourselves in clients’ lives to understand their needs so we drove down to the coast and it was fun. I came third, and I thought, oh, okay!”
This friend went on to compete in the ironman triathlon in the UK but promptly quit the sport after returning to Kenya. But the following year, organizers of the triathlon asked Micheal if he was interested in participating in the competition and he agreed thinking he’d get a vacation out of the excursion outside Nairobi.
“I came second this time. And I thought this is not a bad life. I’m on holiday on the coast, I’m fit, I look nice, I’m like a celebrity! You can tell there’s not much focus then,” he laughs.
But the next two years became instrumental in the growing popularity of triathlons primarily through a strong social media presence. Michael was going through what he describes as a transition period where he became more focused and thought about the direction his life will take. People would approach him asking for his fitness routine, wondering how they could become triathletes.
“Working in the corporate world was not fulfilling. I wanted to know what I do impacts more than my bank account. When does it become not about my salary? What’s your legacy when you die? What will you be remembered for? That really stuck with me.”
This realization led him to embrace a faith-based approach that included church, the training program he developed, and the vision he created for his life. “I’m a triathlete by hobby, a coach and communication person by profession and I’m a man of God by calling,” he describes himself.
The vision of Team Tri Fit is to get as many people into the sport of triathlon as possible. The goal is to increase the number of participants to 700 people by 2022 and his program seems to be approaching that goal. What started out with two clients in an open field now welcomes at least 20 new people each year.
Team Tri Fit is not limited to training for triathlons. They’ve launched a program focusing on health and wellness, swimming, and basketball, attracting a diverse group to the facility. They attract 9 to 5 workers, stay-at-home moms, teens, retirees, and several others that don’t fit the typical athlete model.
“We opened the health and wellness program for people to come and see. One day I throw them the ball or put them on a treadmill, swim a little. It’s a slow process. There’s a lot of fear towards the sport. A lot of demystification work has to be done. Some people don’t know how to swim because swimming is seen as a luxury sport in many places. Africans say water is for drinking and showering,” he jokes. Gradually these people find themselves invested in the sport, purchasing their own bicycles, melding more with the team, and participating in triathlons.
Michael relies on building a rapport with those interested in joining his program. A functional movement assessment is conducted and he might recommend visiting a physiotherapist if there’s an injury. The training is divided into 3 phases that last 16 weeks. The first 4 weeks are dedicated to mobility and flexibility, the following 4 to strength training with weights, and the last 8 weeks to sport-specific training in swimming, biking, and endurance running.
Michael relies on experience to guide trainees, refraining from directly ordering restraint in diet or lifestyle. “I tell people to eat whatever they want but in moderation. Drinking, smoking, poor nutrition, stress, partying all have an impact but experience is the best teacher. You party all night then have to swim laps in the morning, you’re going to feel it.”
He tells trainees to keep a food blog and observe what they’re eating and how it’s affecting their bodies. He sometimes brings his breakfast or lunch into the gym so they can see what he eats. “I sometimes let them come into my world and see how things are. Triathlon is a lifestyle. If it’s for a bucket list you’re going to struggle. If it’s a way of life you want to pick up, these challenges will not break you,” he says. Intention matters. “That person on the street – you’ve transformed their life and they remember you every day.”
The only cost to entering the triathlon training program is one hundred dollars. “That’s the only way we can get people into the sport. If we’re giving people value, they give back in attendance, loyalty becomes easier. We want to care about you so much you’ll want to believe in yourself too. I want to train you because I want to, not for the money.”
The covid-19 pandemic has led to strict restrictions on gyms so Team Tri Fit has limited the number of people allowed inside and they’ve been able to adjust using outdoor spaces more but organizing triathlons has been difficult. The coastal areas host a few competitions each year but the pandemic has not allowed any to take place within the past year.
People are interested in joining Team Tri Fit to get more fit or requiring the structured regimen a gym provides in their fitness routine. Most hear good things from their friends about the program or are motivated by the social media posts and join the team.
Michael’s hard work is paying off each year as he improves gym facilities and attracts a wider range of trainees. It’s unclear what the future holds but the best for Kenya’s triathletes is certainly on its way with Michael’s help.
