Triathletes get down and dirty at Longmere

The long-awaited Longmere Off-road Triathlon could finally take place on Saturday, April 2, months after it had been postponed due to dangerous conditions.

A total of 88 athletes (64 triathletes and 24 individuals making up teams) participated in the event. It was initially meant to take place on November 21 last year, but was postponed at the last minute as the muddy conditions following a heavy storm were deemed unsafe for athletes.
Allison Williams from Funky Pants Nelspruit said the event would not have been possible without the support of the sponsors.

Lowmed provided prizes for the winners, Neville Victor generously supported the event and Valencia provided the riders with technical assistance.

In the standard event, a 1,5-kilometre open-water swim, 30-kilometre mountain-bike ride and 10-kilometre trail run, Werner Bosman (29) emerged victorious in a time of 3:19:01.

He recently completed the Absa Cape Epic and will compete in the Ironman in Port Elizabeth this coming weekend. He said this event was perfect training for the Ironman.

Second placed Ivan Rademeyer (26) was faster in the water, completing the swim in 44:37 to finish in a total time of 4:21,01.
Marlise Nel (32) came in overall third in a time of 4:40,19.

In the sprint event, youth athlete Frans-Josef Mentz (16) placed first. He completed the 750-metre swim in 18:11, the 50-kilometre MTB in 59:34 and the five-kilometre trail run in 26:49 to finish in 1:44,34. Reuben Liebenberg (17) came in second overall. His time of 1:48,35 made him the fastest junior.

The fastest senior was veteran Adriaan Labuschagne (45) who placed third overall in a great time of 1:57,37.

He was followed by senior Darryn Berry (24), who finished fourth in 2:00,35, sub-veteran Hendrick Tryhou (39) who finished fifth in 2:02,45.
Master, Gerhard Steyn (58) finished sixth with a time of 2:04,20.

The fastest woman on the day was veteran Avril Pretorius who finished 10th overall, outrunning Taryn Bales-Field’s 2:16,42 to win the event in 2:12,43.

The closest race of the day was the lite event for children which consisted a 100-metre swim, five-kilometre MTB and 2,5-kilometre trail run.
Zanke Moller (11) beat Joshua Clarke (12) by two seconds to finish in 43:01, while Thomas Williams (10) came in third only
32 seconds later in 42:35.

Isabelle Ferreira (10) was the fastest girl, finishing fourth overall in 51:23, followed by Wilmien van der Merwe (11) in a time of 54:54.
Among the teams competing in the sprint, Tri Harder Team’s Ant Baird, Evan Robson and Mark Smith won by a convincing margin in a time of 1:32,21.

Barberton Clowns came in second with 1:51,49 and Gogo Team in 2:02,30.

• See more pictures: Longmere Off-road Triathlon – in pictures