Move over Robert Downey, Jr – let South Africa’s toughest show you how it should be done. South Africa’s toughest multi-discipline endurance race took place on the 25th of April. Hordes of contestants descended to Port Elizabeth to compete in the challenging triathlon.

Begun as a debate as to whether runners were fitter than swimmers (and vice versa), the Ironman Triathlon began in Hawaii in 1978. The race has spread to 17 countries around the globe, each comprising of three masochistic sections: a 3.8km swim followed by a 180km cycling race and rounded off with a 42.1km marathon. Participants have 17 hours to claim a spot in the World Ironman Championships, hosted annually in Hawaii.

On Sunday 25 April, athletes were greeted by Port Elizabeth’s choppy seas, where 7h00 saw the world’s most-gruelling events commence. Despite complications following the volcanic eruptions in Europe, there were still many international regulars in attendance, including Australian Peter Vaughan, who was competing for a mammoth 50th time, and the duelling Bree Wee (USA) and Caroline Steffen (Switzerland) for the women. However, South African participants still dominated the event, with South Africans Raynard Tissink and Brad Storm giving strong contenders Jordan Rapp (USA) and Daniel Fontana (Italy) a run/swim/cycle for their money.

Athletes battled the rough waters and persevered against some strong headwinds, but in the end, it was Tissink who secured the first South African victory since 2005 with a winning time of eight hours and 23 minutes despite ongoing struggles with asthma. German Sonja Tajsich placed first in the women’s event with nine hours and sixteen minutes.

The contestants shrugged off the early-morning dismal weather and again affirmed South Africa’s Ironman as one of the competition’s most stunning efforts to date. The success of the event was particularly due to the incredible amount of local support, which has grown from year to year. The South African contender James Cunnama seemed to sum up everything immaculately when he remarked, “The support here is fantastic...You notice it when you compete in other countries and it’s not there.”  

The Ironman Championship continues on 1 May in St. George, Utah.