Good friends Wayne Graham and Michael Sacke will swap out their corporate outfits for some skintight attire when they take on the Isuzu Ironman 70.3 World Championships this weekend.
The former provincial hockey teammates take to the start line in the 50-54 age group when they go up against some of the category’s best athletes on Sunday.
US-based Graham, who has returned to the Bay for the first time in 11 years, was accompanied by Sacke on a recce of the 90.1km bike course athletes will ride once they have completed their swim.
“I’m just really excited to be here. It’s a dream to come back to Port Elizabeth, the place where I grew up, and to be part of this event is really special,” Graham said.
A software developer in the US, Graham secured his spot at the Raleigh 70.3 event after finishing in the top five of his age group.
Heading one of the biggest vehicle manufacturers in the country does not leave Sacke much time to train, and he has occasionally had to miss a few sessions due to work travel.
However, he has already banked six months’ hard graft in preparation for the race.
“I generally do two sessions a day [early mornings and evenings after work] and longer sessions on the weekend,” Sacke said.
“I am lucky to belong to a great triathlon club.
“We build a lot of camaraderie between the members, whether they are strong athletes going for podium positions or just wanting to finish.
“Races are always a great experience, with participants and spectators providing great support during the race.”
Sacke is an avid sportsman who played hockey for many years. He also coached the Eastern Province hockey team that later became national champions in 2002 and 2003.
He was assistant coach to the South African men's hockey team that qualified for the 2004 Olympics.
Graham also played provincial hockey in the Eastern Cape and for Northern Transvaal.
He also donned the green and gold in hockey, captaining South Africa at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Isuzu chief executive Sacke, who takes to the 70.3 world championships start line for the first time this year, completed his first 70.3 triathlon race in 2014, before completing the full distance Ironman race a year later.
He has competed in five Ironman 70.3 races and also has three full Ironman and numerous shorter triathlons under his belt.
Graham said he had done at least one full-distance and one 70.3 race each year since 2010.
At his first 70.3 in Louisville, Kentucky, in 2010 he raised funds for a paralysed man.
“Many of my Ironman events I do for charity, as it is very rewarding – a lot of pressure, but very rewarding.
“People are very receptive to it and for me there is an objective,” he said.
Speaking about racing on home soil for the first time in more than a decade, Graham said: “It’s going to be very exciting. It will be very humbling to come back to the place where I grew up.
“The last time I was here I was a real athlete. Now I am just an athlete in my mind,” he quipped.
Sacke said: “We hosted a good event [in] the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and I am confident we can do the same with this event.
“Our city needs this sort of event.
“There are not many of them, so we need to make the most of them.”