Local ironmen brave the challenge
The annual Standard Bank Ironman event took place in Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth as week ago today.
Two more residents of Mbombela can now boast that they are officially ironmen.
It is one of the toughest one-day endurance races in the world and requires hard work, dedication, endurance and commitment. Participants are required to swim 3,8 kilometres, cycle 180,2 kilometres and run 42,2 kilometres.
Two local athletes completed the event. It was the first time for both Eric Nilsson, who finished in 13:17, and Gerry Engelbrecht (the above photograph) who finished in 15:52 to participate, which had a time limit of 17 hours. “It went well. The support was incredible. Anyone can do it if they put in the hours of training,” Nilsson said.
He completed the swim in 1:43 and the cycle in 6:45. Engelbrecht managed to complete his swim in 1:28 and cycled the distance in 7:09.
Both men said they would definitively do it again.
