SUNDAY’S MiWayLife Durban Ultra Triathlon dished up drama aplenty with sea conditions and atmospheric conditions making the going tough, but this didn’t stop Bradley Weiss and Annah Watkinson from storming to the respective men’s and women’s title on Durban’s Golden Mile.
Gnarly surf conditions greeted competitors entered for the Ultra event which forced organisers to shorten the swim from 1.9km to 1.2km in a bid to keep the athletes safety at the top of mind.
With that said the swim was well received by the majority of the competitors as they prepared to battle it out for the South African Long Distance Triathlon title.
For current XTERRA World Champion Weiss, his win was never in doubt after he managed to gain the advantage with a strong early portion of the bike leg, and from there it was a formality as he continued his dominance through the run and cantered home to a near ten minute victory.
“I really enjoyed the course and even though on-road triathlon is something quite new to me I am learning a lot every race and it’s great to get the win here. I am still testing out quite a lot from nutrition to equipment but I feel like I am starting to get everything under control.”
The ladies race was an exciting showdown throughout the first two disciplines of the race with three athletes, Watkinson, Jade Roberts and Magda Nieuwoudt all in the mix until the defending champion Watkinson out-muscled them on the run to win by nearly nine-and-a-half minutes.
The start was far from ideal for Watkinson who fell prey to the rough surf, however once she was on her bicycle she always had the idea that she was in control.
“I got dunked by a wave coming in on the swim and lost my goggles. From there I knew that I was on the back foot a bit but on the bike I let the other girls do most of the work and then when I got onto the run I decided to put the hammer down.
“I had a feeling that if I managed to keep the girls close on the bike then I would be able to dominate on the run and that is what happened. The run course is brilliant and the three laps makes it go by so quickly and the support out there was incredible, not just from spectators but from the other athletes as well,” she said.
