Svenningsson, Sanchez claim Ironman titles

Sweden’s Rasmus Svenningsson overcame tough conditions to be crowned the 19th Isuzu Ironman African Championship winner in Summerstrand on Sunday.

The 31-year-old braved the Gqeberha wind to be the first male triathlete to cross the finish line in a time of eight hours, three minutes and 11 seconds at Hobie Beach.

In second place was Switzerland’s Mathias Petersen in 8:06:50 and third was Cameron Wurf of Australia in 8:07:37.

Svenningsson said winning the Ironman African Championship title was a dream come true.

There had been a tight battle between Wurf and Svenningsson in the run, but it was the Swede who proved to be stronger on the day and pushed through to the finish line to win the race.

“I am extremely happy and tired,” Svenningsson said.

“I am proud of myself, this is truly a dream come true.

“The bike was super hard, I just pushed and hoped that I’d get through to the run and I took it one lap at a time.

“I was extremely tired all the way but on the final lap, I could smell the victory so I just pushed everything I had.

“Cameron Wurf overtook me at some point in the run and I was incredibly tired at that time, I don’t know what happened, I found some strength.

“I can’t explain it but it was just incredible.”

In the women’s race, it was Marta Sanchez who took the lead from the swim, through to the bike and run to claim first place in 9:15:36.

She was followed by Diede Diederiks of the Netherlands in 9:17:52 and Laura Zimmermann of Germany in third in 9:19:12.

The 34-year-old, who won the 2023 Spain Middle Distance Triathlon National Championships, said her plan going into the race was to do well on the bicycle and have a solid lead for the rest of the race.

“I am not sure what happened today,” Sanchez said.

“On the bike, it was my strategy to get in the first place, which I did, but the wind today was a bit  [strong] so I tried to manage my pace and not to fight against [it].

“Surprisingly, on the run, the wind was on my back and that was when I felt more comfortable, but at the end my body changed and I felt I had the legs.

“I didn’t want to run a sprint in the finish line so I made my move and extended my lead and that worked out well for me at the end.

“I am really surprised and grateful for the win.”

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