Rain adds edge to Mpumalanga Biathlon Championship
The championships also served as a means for the union to select its team to head to the nationals.
Nearly 100 biathletes braved some less-than-ideal conditions for this year’s MP Biathlon Interprovincial Championship, held at Hoërskool Rob Ferreira on January 11.
Some 96 biathletes from four provinces arrived, expecting to run one leg of the biathlon and swim the other. However, thanks to the heavy rain the night before and on the morning of the race, they could just as well have had two swimming legs.
But being the determined group that they were, the biathletes laced up their running shoes and took on the wet and rainy weather in pursuit of glory. The interprovincial championship also presented a final chance for local biathletes to stake their claim for the Mpumalanga team that will compete in the nationals in Oudtshoorn on March 21 and 22.
It was also the pinnacle of the 2024/25 biathlon season that started in September with seven league events that took place on Friday afternoons until November. The wide number of biathletes taking part on Saturday ensured that competition was healthy throughout the poor weather. For the race, athletes run either 400m or 800m and swim either 50m or 100m depending on their age group.
In the U9 to U13 category, Ian Engelbrecht (boys U11) won the victor ludorum award, while Lumay de Beer (girls U9) was the victrix ludorum. Samuel Tryhou (boys U19) and Zoë Morgado (girls U15) were victor and victrix ludorum in the U15 to U19 category.
Finally, in the seniors, JB Eksteen (senior men) was the victor ludorum, while Marieke Bouwer (masters 60+ women) was the victrix ludorum.
In addition to the individual competition, there were school competitions as well. Laerskool Nelspruit won the primary school division and Hoërskool Nelspruit the high school one. The Mpumalanga team heading off to nationals had yet to be announced by the time of publishing.
