Ironman tragedy hits home for Salt Rock family

Tragedy struck when two men died while competing in the Ironman African Championship in Port Elizabeth last weekend – one of them a Salt Rock dad.

No stranger to extreme fitness challenges, the 57-year-old Andre Trichardt competed in his first Ironman and was feeling strong and ready for the hardcore race according to his daughter, Melanie.

“My dad has done everything from the Sani2C mountain bike race to a couple of Comrades Marathons. He trained hard and was a member of the Dolphin Striders.

“I do not think he had ever prepared himself better for a race than the Ironman and he was at the peak of his fitness,” said the 28-year-old Melanie.

She said he started off strong in the Ironman until the difficult swim leg. Due to the extremely choppy conditions the swim section was reportedly shortened from the usual 3.8 km length to 1.6 km.

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Andre got into trouble in the cold water and despite best efforts to save him, all help was too late. A second swimmer from George also got into trouble and could not be saved.

Melanie said they were all in shock and have nothing but love for him.

“My dad was an amazing family man and we absolutely adored him. My mom lost the love of her life and my sister Jessie and I lost a dad who was incredibly supportive and accepting of everything we did,” said Melanie.

The family are waiting for the autopsy results and the police are investigating further.

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