Nicholas Horne is emerging as one of South Africa’s brightest triathletes and it’s easy to see why. With his rapid rise, which has seen him win eight of his ten races on the World Junior Triathlon circuit, and counting, he is also learning to balance his training and school life, writes MARK LEMKE.
Now in Grade 11 at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg, the 16-year-old has risen to the No1 spot in the African Junior rankings, and he has his sights set on even bigger things.
“I think the goal of most athletes is the Olympics, as it is mine,” he said. “I am working towards it with ambitions, but realistic milestones along the journey, such as the Youth Olympics in Senegal next year. Being a triathlete is what I love to do and it is what I want to do with my life. It feels like my destiny.”
Most kids progress to triathlons – a swim, followed by a stint on the bike and then finishing with a run – after excelling in one of those three disciplines and then improving in the other two. It was no different with Horne.
“I was always involved in athletics at school, but triathlon was also offered as a sport so I decided to give it a go, because running came easy to me.” Swimming, not so much. “Before a triathlon, I would warm up by swimming 20 metres just to make sure I remembered how to!” The third element, cycling, was also something he soon excelled at, with his brother having introduced him to it.
The competitive edge has always been there, as has the belief, which is evident as we talk about his rise up the triathlon ladder.
At the age of 14 he became U15 Gauteng champion, which booked him a national ticket to the 2023 Junior Africa Championships in Hurghada, Egypt. That first foray onto the continental stage saw him win gold in 31 minutes 21 seconds. “That performance made me realise that I was actually quite good and from there, I fell in love with the sport. That’s when I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to it.”
Since then, Horne’s development and rise has been apparent. Win No8 on African soil was in early March at the 2025 Junior Africa Cup event in Zimbabwe. Victory came off the back of a dominant 5km run, completed in 16min 28sec, which saw him come from nearly 90 seconds behind after climbing off the bike to break the tape 27 seconds clear.
He followed this performance up with a second-place finish in the SA Sprint Championships in Benoni in difficult conditions. “That race was a slight hiccup for me. It was pouring with rain and the wind was howling, and wow, the water was freezing! I did a good job clawing back the one-minute deficit out of the water but I ended up just missing out on the win.”
Currently he trains three to four times before and after school, rotating between his cycling, running and swimming. “I really enjoy school. It takes quite a toll trying to balance my studies and training, but KES is really understanding of my ambitions and they support me.”
Judging by his results, it’s clear that Horne is doing a good job of managing his lifestyle. His next assignment is the second Africa Junior Cup event in Swakopmund, Namibia, where he hopes to build on his success from Zimbabwe.
While his path is dotted with ambitions to be at the 2026 Youth Olympics and the Olympics, the reality is that it will be 2032 Brisbane and beyond where he only reaches his athletic peak. Winning the famous World Ironman in Kona, Hawaii is also very much on his career radar.
For now, Horne is still in the infancy of his journey to the top but his hunger and his love for the sport fuels him to work hard every day in school and training. “My goals are going to take a lot of work to achieve, but I believe I can do it. I am still very young and I am improving every day. It takes baby steps but I am really pleased with my progress so far.”
At the end of our conversation, he was asked if he had some time to relax, as it was closing in on six in the evening. He chuckled and said, “Oh no, not at all, I’m off to swim now. I need to get my swimming up to scratch.”
