South African athlete Raynard Tissink swam, cycled and ran into second place at Sunday’s 2006 Spec-Savers Ironman South Africa competition, held in Nelson Mandela Bay.
Belgium’s Gerardus Schellens took top honours in the gruelling triathlon that comprised a 3,8km swim across the bay, 180km of cycling and a 42,2km full marathon.
The day kicked off at 7am with a strong field of international athletes, including world champ Faris al-Sultan. Strong winds and a heavy downpour towards the end of the swimming leg had an effect on the race, as the athletes then faced wet-course conditions.
After the swim, the early runners were out of the water by 8.55am, followed by the rest of the field. At the transition, home favourite Tissink and al-Sultan were neck and neck. In the women’s race, Natascha Badmann of Switzerland, world champion and title holder, completed a respectable swim, gearing her up for a thrilling bike ride.
Conditions dried up and athletes began the 180km cycle. Throughout the cycling leg, Tissink and al-Sultan were in the lead at various times, with the Czech Republic’s Petr Vabrousek in the distance.
Badmann soon caught her fellow competitors and never looked back. Her incredible performance on the bike put her 30 minutes ahead of the second-placed woman after the cycle run.
In the men’s race, al-Sultan came first into the transition to the marathon, followed closely by Tissink. Al-Sultan created a narrow lead over Tissink on the road, but was soon caught and once again the two champions were exchanging leads. Meanwhile, Schellens was finding his stride and catching up with the leaders. He soon overtook them, showing no sign of slowing down.
Al-sultan was passed by Vabrousek, who then found himself in third position, chasing Tissink and Schellens.
Badmann by then had a lead of close to 40 minutes, ensuring her second consecutive South African Spec-Savers Ironman title. She was being chased by Diana MacPherson of South Africa as well as Cordula Moller from Namibia.
Schellens completed the best run of the day in a time of 2:48,05 to win his first Ironman title in Port Elizabeth. His total time for the race was 8:36,06. A minute or so later, home-town favourite Tissink arrived in 8:37,37 followed by Vabrousek in 8:38,52.
Badmann completed the race in 9:46,38, followed by MacPherson in 10:10,08. In third place for the women was Moller in 10:12,57.
The crowd support was fantastic and many stayed to welcome home the final finishers, the organisers said in a statement on Monday.
On the net
Ironmansouthafrica.com/