VETERAN surf lifesaving iron man and uMhlanga resident, Matt Bouman delivered a master-class in brutal surf conditions at North Beach to win the sixth edition of the ADreach Ocean heroes competition from a strong field of athletes.
Bouman exited the water after the swim leg of the four-discipline iron man event in last place as the rest of the men’s field charged into the big surf at the start of the surfski leg. As the surf churning against the pier decimated the field, Bouman used his decades of experience on a surfski and his sheer brawn to crash through the surf and into an event-winning lead.
With a sizeable lead over defending champion Connor Botha, Bouman tore along the pier on the run leg and made no mistake on the malibu board leg to wrap up a peerless victory for the Umhlanga Rox SLC stalwart, with Botha second and Sanele Nxumalo wrapping up a superb third place.
“It was really just about being consistent, moving quickly, moving decisively, and once we got around the pier to just move with the ocean,” said Bouman.
“It was such good fun. The surf was big but it was consistent. You had to understand the ocean and you had to take a gamble. There was good reason why I was last after the swim leg – these guys are all top swimmers and iron men and I am basically a surfski paddler. It was just my day. That’s what I love about racing in the ocean. I kinda let go of expectations in surf lifesaving because, while you are always trying to win, it is ultimately the ocean that says who wins,” he said.
In the women’s race, Durban North resident and defending champion, Alice Edward, took home the honours beating La Lucia’s Paige Horn.
Edward’s title was reward for her tenacity and consistency, with Horn second and the heroic Daisy Mowat, who has just left the Nipper ranks, in third.
“We were all together trying to punch through the surf and I realised that this where I have to make a move,” said Edward afterwards.
“It is your own race. You have to stop thinking about everyone else and getting stressed out. You have to focus on yourself and making the least number of mistakes, which is what it all comes down to,” she said.
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