Shark spottings in Port Elizabeth's waters in the days leading up to the South African Triathlon Championships didn't stop over 400 of the country's top athletes from diving into the event.
Shark spottings in Port Elizabeth's waters in the days leading up to the South African Triathlon Championships didn't stop over 400 of the country's top athletes from diving into the event.
A few athletes posted comments on Facebook, days before the national event, about a shark being spotted at Hobie Beach. But on the day the only thing affecting times recorded in the Pollock Beach swim were the rough swells. Days after the event, a sand shark was caught at Pollock Beach.
Despite the dangers, a number of Grahamstown athletes represented their province in the triathlon.
The champs were split into four events: Juniors, Paratriathlete, Age Groupers and Elite. The juniors and paratriathletes covered the sprint distance which includes a 750m swim, followed by a 20km cycle and then a 5km run. The age groupers and elite covered the Olympic distance, made up of a 1.5km swim, 40km cycle and 10km run.
Dylan Ramsay of St Andrew's College represented the Eastern Province (EP) in the junior event, while Deon Boshoff, John van Onselen, Terri-Lynn Penney, Natalie Ross, Julie Walker (all representing EP) and Leah Sloman (representing Amathole) raced in the age group event.
First of the locals to finish was Deon Boshoff, who used the champs as a preparation towards the upcoming SpecSavers Ironman South Africa event. Boshoff swam the fastest of the locals, with his 33 minutes 7 seconds, as well as achieving the fastest cycle time among Grahamstonians with his time of 1:14:48. Rhodes University student Natalie Ross was second home and the first local woman, as well as running the quickest 10km among locals with her time of 43:31. Ross was also third in the 20 to 24 age category, earning the South African Triathlon bronze medal.
Grahamstown results from the SA triathlon champs
Olympic distance:
130. Deon Boshoff – 2:38:31 (33:07 swim, 1:14:48 cycle and 50:36 run)
138. Natalie Ross – 2:40:26 (37:10 swim, 1:19:45 cycle and 43:31 run)
168. John van Onselen – 2:45:13 (40:14 swim, 1:15:06 cycle and 49:53 run)
178. Leah Sloman – 2:47:30 (35:16 swim, 1:26:14 cycle and 45:59 run)
198. Julie Walker – 2:55:00 (41:31 swim, 1:20:37 cycle and 52:51 run)
213. Terri-Lynn Penney – 3:00:30 (44:49 swim, 1:31:44 cycle and 43:56 run).
Sprint distance:
32. Dylan Ramsay – 1:12:49 (13:42 swim, 37:18 cycle and 21:49 run).
