Pieterjan van der Merwe and Hannah Newman were crowned South African champions at the SA Triathlon Championships, held in conjunction with the African Triathlon Cup, at Ebotse Golf and Country Estate on March 8.

Their victories came in a race dominated by European athletes, highlighting the noticeable gap in depth, race execution and overall pace between SA’s elite triathletes and their international counterparts.

The international field controlled the tempo across all three disciplines and ultimately dictated the outcome of the race, leaving the local contenders chasing from early on and underlining the challenge SA athletes face in closing the performance gap on the global stage.

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Van der Merwe claimed the national title in 57:46, with Scott Fisher second in 59:08, while Michael Hesse completed the top three in 01:00:45.

“It’s always nice to get a little bit of recognition. This was my first elite race in four years. So, it does give me a little bit of confidence. I think if I do a little bit more, it will be even better,” said Van der Merwe.

Newman held her own in the elite women’s race dominated by international athletes. She claimed the national women’s crown in 01:05:10 and was ninth overall.

Karla Grobler, who won the SA sprint triathlon champs at the same venue last year, clinched the runner-up spot in 01:05:44.

Giving her analysis of the race, Newman said, “It’s my first elite race in two years. I’ve been training mostly for 70.3 or middle distance triathlons, so it was quite tough to come and do a sprint race off of training for endurance. But I’m happy to take the national title. I think it’s a good stepping stone back into short-course racing for me.”

William Pearson Inman won the U23 men’s title in 55:49, with Matthew van Coller second in 58:17. Joshua Steytler clocked 58:26 for third place.

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Kirsten Engelbrecht produced a thrilling sprint to the finish to beat Thana Groenewald to the U23 women’s crown. Engelbrecht crossed the line in 01:07:10, a second ahead of Groenwald.Other results:
Male
12-13
1. Wanru Haasbroek
2. Calan Goetsch
3. Malachi van Zyl
14-15
1. Micah Chase and Ruan Kooi
2. Jean Vosloo
20-24
1. Juandre-Pierre Basson
2. Hayden Evans
3. Tristan Brett
25-29
1. Dylan Kruger
2. Janno Agenbag
3. Siya Molefe
Female
12-13
1. Chenique Kooi
2. Kaitlyn Muller
3. Keyla Douglas
14-15
1. Emma Brinkmann and Paiton van der Merwe
2. Alexis Beamish
3. Lenè Bester
20-24
1. Jeanndre Rosewall
25-29
1. Jayme-Sue Vermaas
The rest of the age-group results are available on https://results.finishtime.co.za.