IT was a moment to savour for athletes Trish and Claude Eksteen and their sons, Keagan and Daniel Bahlmann, at this year’s Fédération Internationale de Sports d’Obstacles (FISO) OCR World Championships.

The quartet, who train at Adventure Obstacle Training (AOT), represented Team South Africa at the World Champs in Genk, Belgium.

Overall, Team South Africa finished 12th with a tally of seven medals.

This was due in part to Trish and Claude who accounted for three of those medals.

Also read: Glen Hills hockey player nets World Cup dream

Trish won gold in the 15km (45–49 age group), crowning her world champion, and she also won a silver in the 3km sprint race (45–49 age group) while Claude clinched a silver medal in the 3km sprint race (45-49 age group).

“It was the first time I’ve competed in my age group at a world championship. It really was about seeing where I stand in terms of my fitness. My performances have motivated me to compete in the Elite Open category next year – I’d like to give that category one more shot. Even though we brought home medals, having our sons competing and being there as a family was what made this world champs special for me,” Trish said.

Incredibly, a month after triumphing at the World Champs, the duo were crowned the Warrior Race Overall Champs in the Black Ops Elite category.

“We missed one of the Warrior races because we’d just come from World Champs. Both Trish and I acknowledged that we wanted to be back for the final event of the series and end the year on a high,” Claude explained.

Also read: Northwood School duo shine at bodyboard champs

Speaking on his World Champs experience, Claude was full of praise for his fellow athletes.

“The obstacles are different – they feel different – but being part of a national team with our sons was just incredible. I think as a first experience, both the team and Keagan and Daniel performed admirably. It was a massive learning curve for them, but they’ve now got an idea of the fitness of athletes from other parts of the world.”

Trish and Claude are now gearing up for the Tough Mudder event in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, in February next year, which will see competitors complete the most laps of the 10km course over eight hours.

For their sons, Keagan and Daniel, the World Champs have given them the motivation for next year’s competition in Costa Rica.

“I felt I struggled in the latter half of the 3km sprint race in my age group. I doubted myself and almost gave up, but I remembered my training and the preparations I’d completed with my mom and dad. I felt that crossing the finish line, despite not placing, was a massive moment for me. I’m now more motivated to do it all over again. I’m using the December holidays to continue working on my fitness. My favourite experience of World Champs was seeing my mom and dad on the podium. They were incredible,” he said.

For Daniel (12), those words echoed true.

“It is unbelievable knowing my parents won medals at the World Champ. Seeing them go up on the podium was just an amazing experience. They are among the most elite athletes in the world, and I aspire to be them one day,” he said.

For more from Northglen News, follow us on Facebook, X or Instagram. You can also check out our videos on our YouTube channel