BOTH the champions in the About IT Triathlon Summer Series had to settle for silver medals in the second round at the weekend as new winners were crowned.
Men's champion and last year's Series winner Nathan le Roux, of East London, fought hard throughout but just could not catch Border teammate Clinton Gravett, who was in outstanding form to claim the round two title in a fast time of one hour, eight minutes.
Le Roux was more than two minutes behind and Jeffreys Bay triathlete Paul du Plessis took third spot.
Gravett, the SA triathlon championships silver medalist, was second in round one and pulled out all the stops to take the lead in the cycling section of the event. He extended this advantage during the running leg.
In the women's race, undefeated series champion since 2010, Liza Kingston, came out the water fourth and pushed hard throughout, but could not catch Corinne Berg, of Johannesburg.
Berg led from start to finish to complete the race in 1:16, becoming the first women to beat Kingston in a triathlon series event.
The 28-year-old Berg, who finished second in her age-group at this year's 70.3 Ironman, was visiting Port Elizabeth to train for next year's Ironman event, in which she will be competing for the first time.
In the overall standings, Le Roux leads the junior category, with Port Elizabeth's Keegan Cooke and Munro Ferreira tied for second place, while Gravett leads the senior standings from Gauteng triathlete Cobus Kruger and PE's Gawie Henning.
In the women's category, Germany's Katharina Lieb leads the junior category from PE's Shannon Bradford, with Kingston leading the senior category ahead of Grahamstown's Alexia Loizou and UK-based athlete Jade Hooke, who are tied for second.
The final round of the About IT Triathlon Summer Series takes place on Friday morning at Port St Francis, starting at 8.30am.
The overall standings after two rounds are:
Junior men: 1 Nathan le Roux (EL) 100pts, 2 Keegan Cooke (PE) 85, 2 Munro Ferreira (PE) 85, 4 Tristan Gravett (EL) 70, 5 Jason Campbell (Knysna) 60
Senior men: 1 Clinton Gravett (EL) 100pts, 2 Jacobus Kruger (Jhb) 75, 3 Gawie Henning (PE) 70, 4 Ross Helliwell (PE) 35 and Michael Kingston (PE) 35.
Junior women: 1 Katharina Lieb (Germany) 85, 2 Shannon Bradford (PE) 50
Senior women: 1 Liza Kingston (PE) 95, 2 Alexia Loizou (Grahamstown) 65, 2 Jade Hooke (UK) 65, 4 Amor Strauss (PE) 40, 5 Jenny Rubidge (PE) 25
Round two's results:
Men: 1 Clinton Gravett (1:08:55); 2 Nathan le Roux (1:11:11); 3 Paul du Plessis (1:13:11); 4 Justin Ashworth (1:13:51); 5 Gawie Henning (1:14:03); 6 Jacobus (Cobus) Kruger (1:14:16); 7 Richard Gilbert (1:14:32); 8 Kevin Mutlow (1:15:41); 9 Alec Riddle (1:16:15); 10 Ross Helliwell (1:17:10)
Women: 1 Corinne Berg (1:16:39); 2 Liza Kingston (1:16:55); 3 Robyn Williams (1:17:00); 4 Katharina Lieb (1:18:36); 5 Vivienne Williams (1:19:49); 6 Jade Hooke (1:26:45); 7 Alexia Loizou (1:27:14); 8 Chene Karshagen (1:27:38); 9 Amore Strauss (1:29:47); 10 Ilze Ritter (1:33:27)
Teams: 1 De Langes & Smith (1:25:10); 2 Durban Woods Family (1:42:36); 3 Langeveld Family (1:47:01); 4 Marais Duo (1:51:41); 5 About IT (1:54:25); 6 Woods Family (2:14:39)