Chad Ho revels in record Midmar success

The 23-year-old favourite edged out closest rival Troyden Prinsloo by an eighth (0.08) of a second at Midmar Dam, near Howick, in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, after they both swam times of 18 minutes and 18 seconds.

“Winning five in a row is a huge deal to me,” Ho said afterwards.

“Winning just a title means a lot to me so winning five makes me very happy.

“I think I gave some people a bit of a heart-attack towards the end there but I’m really happy to have taken the win.

“My first win (back in 2010) also went down to a photo finish and hats off to Troy for pushing me the whole way.”

The pair, both South African Olympians, were neck-and-neck throughout the 1.6 kilometres dash, widely regarded as one of the world’s largest and most famous open water races, with Ho managing to get out of the water slightly ahead and crossing the line milliseconds ahead.

Another local, Myles Brown, was third in a time of 18:43.

“It was a very tough race and I knew I had to be in front of Troy because he’s a little bit taller than me. I knew if I had that little gap, I could get in ahead of him,” Ho said.

“I also knew that my experiences from previous years would help me at the end … like knowing the slipway (the finish line), it all plays a part.”

Ho said instead of looking ahead to a possible sixth successive title in 2015, he would “just take it one year at a time”.

Women’s winner Ashley Twichell was thrilled she managed to edge out seven-time winner Keri-Anne Payne by two seconds to take the title for a second year running.

“I love this race,” the American said after crossing the line in 19:45 ahead of Briton Payne in 19:47.

“With the amount of travelling I do, I have to pick and choose which races I focus on. This one is pretty far away from home but it’s one of my favourites.

“Keri-Anne did get out fast and she is unbelievable but her start didn’t really change things too much for me.

“I got a little caught up with all the people in the beginning, but I’ve done enough races to stay calm.”

The pair ended comfortably ahead of Michelle Weber (20:29), who was the top female South African, rounding up the same top three from 2013.

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal police were on Monday searching for a man who went missing during the Midmar Mile swim on Saturday.

Captain Thulani Zwane said search and rescue police divers in Pietermaritzburg were at the scene. The organisers of the event were not immediately available for comment.

– Sapa