Port Elizabeth athlete crowned age group Ironman world champion
Michelle Enslin beats 125 other competitors in Ironman 70.3
Port Elizabeth added the latest name to the list of world champions when Michelle Enslin ran her way to victory in her age group at the 2018 Isuzu Ironman 70.3 World Championships on Saturday.
Enslin, 50, from Sardinia Bay, was crowned champion in a time of five hours, nine minutes and 33 seconds to claim her first Ironman 70.3 world title on home soil.
Enslin, a retired businesswoman, beat out 125 other competitors in the 50-54 age group to take the win.
Enslin said the feeling of being called a world champion has not yet fully sunk in, and it could take another day or two.
“It was the toughest, darkest, most emotionally and physically challenging race I have ever won,” she said.
“I knew what I had to do in each discipline, everything was cramping, nothing went to plan, so I pretty much raced on determination and guts.
“One of my friends watching also shouted at me, saying that no one remembers who comes second, so with three kilometres to go, I just pulled myself together and tried as hard as I could to get over the line.”
Enslin, who has done 10 full and 10 half-distance Ironman races, said racing at home was a different experience.
She said it was a proud moment for her to cross the line to the screams of local and international fans and athletes alike.
Coached by multisports enthusiast Richard Lawrie at My Training Day, Enslin said she has never known someone with so much passion and dedication for what they do.
“He is one of the most inspirational, committed individuals I have ever met and, by the time I leave for Ironman World Championships in Kona next week, I will have been working with him for two years.
“He is much younger than me so I was doubtful and actually laughed at him when he said he wanted to coach me.
“But I have never met someone with so much enthusiasm, dedication and passion for his athletes, whether you a professional or a weekend warrior.”
After going through a neardeath experience in 2007, Enslin decided to “celebrate life” by participating in her first three discipline race.
She had three years away from the sport between 2014 and 2016, nursing a number of illnesses and operations.
Enslin gained her slot at the world championships after coming home as the first South African athlete in her age group at the 2017 Ironman African Championships.
She now turns her attention to the world championships in Kona, having gained a slot by winning her age group category at the African Championships in the Bay, in April.
She said her final training block begins today.
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