Bradley Weiss carried the national flag on home soil on Sunday, securing a continental title by taking second place at the Ironman South Africa in Gqeberha, which combines the African Championships.
While French athlete Leon Chevalier took the open title in the thrilling ultra-distance triathlon in 7:11:44, Weiss fought back to take second place for the second consecutive year.
Leading the cost of SA
The former Xterra world champion, who was the only South African to finish among the top nine, completed the race (consisting of a 3.8 km swim, 180 km cycle and 42.2 km) in 7:16:03.
Danish athlete Mathias Petersen filled the bottom position on the podium, crossing the line in 7:20:55.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Laura Phillipp won the women’s race in 8:01:59, finishing more than 11 minutes ahead of England’s Fenella Langridge.
Jade Roberts, who finished seventh overall in 8:24:04, was the first South African athlete to win the African title.
Half iron
Earlier, in the half ironman race, Timothy Hayward took victory in 3:57:52, finishing well ahead of Manfred Lambrechts (4:00:10) in a contest dominated by South African athletes.
In the women’s event, German athlete Cindy Friebel won gold in 4:28:05, with Russia’s Diana Trubkovich taking second place in 4:35:06.
Lauren Billson was the first South African to cross the line, finishing third in 4:36:24.