Wrestling triplets catch the eye at Tuks Challenge
Nearly all of the who’s who of South African wrestling was part of the action at Saturday’s annual Tuks Challenge Tournament, but it was three brothers from TuksWrestling that amazed experts with their performance.
The Liebenberg-triplets from Pretoria proved on Saturday during the Tuks Challenge Tournament that good things happen in threes by dominating on the wrestling mats.
Between them, they had 15 fights at the well-known tournament, which attracted more than 350 entries this year. The triplets won 14 of their 15 fights.
Still, the brothers can claim to have had a 100% success rate. The one fight lost was an all family affair with the 10-year old Jordan beating his brother Hayden to win five out five. Hayden had four victories to his name with Barry winning six out six.
The Tuks wrestling triplets’ successes are indeed due to their continuous rivalry. They make it clear that whoever wins today never has the luxury of resting on his laurels because for them the challenge to “rule supreme” never stops. There is always a challenger who wants a rematch to revenge a previous defeat.
One would expect Barry – who is slightly bigger than his brothers and who has earned his national colours – to be the ‘top dog’, but Jordan and Hayden make it clear they have his measure.
According to the brothers, things tend to get rough at times with tempers flaring. If that happens, they might not always stick to the rules, but as said all is fair in love and war. In the end, they remain a band of brothers who are really proud of one another’s successes.
The triplets were only three and a half years old when they started wrestling. Jordan admits that at first, they were not too keen about the sport; however, after a short sabbatical, they took to the challenge of trying to pin their opponents in earnest.
For Hayden getting the opportunity to pin an opponent comes close to being an ultimate while Jordan emphasised the importance of hard work, discipline and listening to the coaches.
On Saturday Barry impressed during one his fights. Within the first minute, he was four points down. But there was no way he was going to lose. Seconds later he pinned his opponent to clinch the fight.
“I have learned the importance of remaining calm when fighting even if things are not going as planned. The mistake my opponent made was getting upset with himself for some reason or the other. The moment he did, so he lost focus. It made it easy for me to capitalise on his mistakes,” said Barry Liebenberg.
The brothers also excel on the rugby field. All three will in all possibility play for Laerskool Lynnwood’s under-11 A- team this year. Jordan plays at scrumhalf, Hayden as a loose forward while Barry does not mind where he plays as long as it is in the backline.
Still, that is not all. According to their Tuks athletics coach, Ammie Sutton, if they really put their mind to it, they can excel on the track also. Barry has the makings to become a good sprinter while his brothers are not bad in hurdling.
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