"I’m officially a triathlete!"

Over the weekend of 25 and 26 April, Cape Town was once again the host of one of the most beautiful events on the triathlon calendar. The Discovery World Triathlon Cape Town had Jetty 2 at the V&A Waterfront and the Green Point Stadium carpeted in blue, ready to host the thousands of age group athletes and the much-anticipated international elites.

Although the highlight of the weekend was certainly the Elite Men’s race on Sunday afternoon, the weekend was full of extraordinary moments created by enthusiastic athletes competing in the Sprint and Olympic distance events.

The Olympic distance event was on Saturday; it was for some a great disappointment, but for others a great relief that the swim was cancelled for the age group category due to icy-cold water. According to triathlon.org, the technical delegate of Triathlon South Africa (TSA) ruled to cancel the swim due to a possible risk to the safety of athletes as a result of the cold water, combined with cold air temperature.

The cycle and the run legs went ahead as planned for all the age groupers in the morning with many athletes happy about the cooler air temperatures.

The big moment of the day was when Vicky Holland, Great Britain, won her first ever World Triathlon after returning from injury. Katie Zaferes, USA, and Nicola Spirig, Switerland, took the other two spots on the podium.

The following morning of Sprint distance racing started with the paratriathletes and Discovery’s Team Vitality Ambassador Hein Wagner did the team proud by coming in a solid third. Hein’s racing partner, Alwyn de Kock was particularly pleased with their fantastic finish. Hein said he was very happy with their performance and was grateful to Alwyn for keeping him motivated.

The age groupers had the opportunity to swim until midway through the morning when the sea temperature dropped below safe levels again, despite the day being warm and sunny. According to triathlon.org, the winner of the 25-29 age group, Timothee Hugnin, said that this event is the one for new triathletes to start with. Winner of the 40-44 age group, Brit Hyland, agreed, saying that Cape Town is one of the best places in the world.

In the afternoon, the stands filled with spectators ready to witness the talent of the Elite men. The crowd’s firm favourite was Richard Murray, South Africa, who looked strong from the start. He was in the lead pack through the cycle and most of the run but just missed the podium, coming in fourth place.

Despite a fall on the run, Alistair Bronwlee, Great Britain, took top spot after coming back to racing following an injury. His powerful kick in the run left Javier Gomez Noya, Spain, with silver, and Vincent Luis, France, with bronze.

At the wrap up of the festivities, Team Vitality members Mike Hewan and Dave Greenway both said that they’d had a wonderful day and were already looking forward to next year’s event. Said Mike, “I haven’t swum for ages but I’m really happy with how I did.” Dave’s comment: “I’m officially a triathlete!” This is the excited sentiment that will be shared by all newcomers to the sport and Discovery looks forward to hosting many more at next year’s event.

Pictured: Hein and Alwyn enjoying the sunshine at the finish line