Henri Schoeman was a class apart from his rivals when he delivered a sublime triathlon exhibition in Rynfield to register an utterly dominant victory during the SEESA Jozi Triathlon on September 28.
It was a sensational all-round gun to tape performance from the Olympian and 2016 ITU World Triathlon Series Grand final winner to clinch the men’s standard distance.
As expected, it was on the two-lap 1.5km swim inside at CR Swart Dam where Schoeman blew the race apart, getting out of the water first to stay well clear of the field after T1.
On the bike, he cycled the four-lap 40km course in the streets of Rynfield and Morehill to increase his lead and was metres ahead of Pieterjan van der Merwe in T2, before running the two-lap 10km course inside the picturesque Ebotse Golf and Country Estate unchallenged to eventually take the tape in 01:50:32, shattering last year’s course record of 01:59:13 set by Rudolf Naude, by almost 10 minutes.
Van der Merwe arrived 08:59 later after clocking 01:59:31 to take the second spot and Kyle Gounder rounded off the podium in 02:04:43.
Schoeman used this event to prepare for the T100 Triathlon World Tour Las Vegas on October 19 and the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Taupo, New Zealand in December.
“I’m happy. It’s a training session. I tried to push as hard as I could. They put on a great race here. We had beautiful weather and lots of people taking part. I was able to push my body quite hard. I’m happy with winning for my team, Bahrain Victorious,” he told the Benoni City Times.
Advising youngsters who would like to try triathlon, he said, “Give it a go. Have fun with some friends and make a weekend of it. Race each other. Maybe you’ll enjoy it and end up doing it more often. Before you know it, you’ll be a professional triathlete”.
Also Read: Local delighted to win her first triathlon
Women’s race
Ashleigh Irvine-Smith returned after a two-year hiatus to win the women’s standard distance with a sublime performance, finishing the event sixth overall.
She cut the tape in 02:14:42 for victory, beating Debbie O’Leary’s time from last year by 20:28. Lauren Dance clocked 02:24:33 for second place and Anja Heenop completed the top three in 02:29:07.
Irvine-Smith complemented the race organisers for a well-run event, saying she enjoyed the cycling route because of its many twists and turns.
“I’m happy with my performance. This is the first race I’ve done in two years. It was nice being out there seeing some familiar faces. The win was a bonus. I’m really chuffed,” she said.
Sprint distance
Top junior triathletes Kadence Ribbink and Nicholas Horne claimed victory in the men’s and women’s sprint distance.
Ribbink, the first athlete out of the water in the swim, won in 01:09:11. Paige Mills was second in 01:18:23 and Abigale Meineke grabbed the bronze in 01:23:48.
Horne crossed the line in 01:02:43 to win the men’s race, ahead of second placed Luke Spencer who clocked 01:08:01. Phillip Theron was third in 01:09:49.
Super-sprint
Amy Jackson made it two out of two when she defended her women’s super-sprint distance title. She won in 38:10, ahead of her Holy Rosary schoolmates Caitlyn Dukoff-Gordon (39:30) and Siobhan Evans, who clocked 39:46 for third place.
Former Morehill resident Dean Coetzee, who now lives in Durban, won the men’s race in 36:53. Kehoe Burgess was second in 48:23 and Joshua Cowling rounded-off the podium in 49:32.
Also Read: Naudè and O’Leary win inaugural Jozi Triathlon
