Donovan O’Reilly and Cindy Schwulst put in dominant performances over the past weekend to triumph in the Halcyon Triathlon powered by Tribal race two at the Orient Beach on Sunday morning.
In the race, which had added meaning as it was doubling up as the Buffalo City Championships, both O’ Reilly and Schwulst claimed comfortable wins in their respective divisions.
O’Reilly finished in a time of 2hrs 14min and 38sec, over two-and-a-half minutes ahead of his closest challenger, while Schwulst cruised home in 2:25:28, over 21 minutes ahead of the second placed woman.
“I didn’t expect to do so well. I had ridden the K2K mountain bike ride the day before with my wife, but I was happy to have got the win,” said O’Reilly, who competes for the Solarwise team.
“Some of the big guys weren’t here for different reasons, but it was still very competitive and I am chuffed with the win.”
With a Buffalo City Triathlon team being chosen after the event to take part in next year’s SA champs, athletes knew that an impressive performance here could seal their spot in the team.
Following O’Reilly home was Ryan Hammond in a time of 2:17:11, improving on his finish in the first Halcyon race, where he finished third.
Third place went to Graeme Renard in 2:19:16, with Vukile Makeleni in fourth and Dap Louw rounding out the top five.
On the women’s side Nikita Steele matched her runner-up finish in the first Halcyon event finishing in a time of 2:46:40, while Charlene Moss finished third in 2:54:23.
One last triathlon event for the year was meant to remain on the Buffalo City calendar, with it set to be an ultra race, which would have brought out many athletes who will be taking part in next year’s Ironman 70.3 event.
However, the race might not go ahead according to Buffalo City Triathlon secretary Sherry Wattrus, as other events being held in the city in December are being covered by the traffic department, meaning they may not be able to cover the Triathlon.
If that race does not end up taking place the Ironman in January will be the next major event on the local triathlon calendar.
“My focus at the moment is on the half-Ironman in January and then what will be my first full Ironman in April,” said O’Reilly.
“But it is great to have all of these events here in East London as travelling to compete in others is expensive,” he said.
The Buffalo City SA Champs team is expected to be named in the next two weeks, according to Wattrus.
Win for top pair goes as expected
In the race, which had added meaning as it was doubling up as the Buffalo City Championships, both O’ Reilly and Schwulst claimed comfortable wins in their respective divisions.
O’Reilly finished in a time of 2hrs 14min and 38sec, over two-and-a-half minutes ahead of his closest challenger, while Schwulst cruised home in 2:25:28, over 21 minutes ahead of the second placed woman.
“I didn’t expect to do so well. I had ridden the K2K mountain bike ride the day before with my wife, but I was happy to have got the win,” said O’Reilly, who competes for the Solarwise team.
“Some of the big guys weren’t here for different reasons, but it was still very competitive and I am chuffed with the win.”
With a Buffalo City Triathlon team being chosen after the event to take part in next year’s SA champs, athletes knew that an impressive performance here could seal their spot in the team.
Following O’Reilly home was Ryan Hammond in a time of 2:17:11, improving on his finish in the first Halcyon race, where he finished third.
Third place went to Graeme Renard in 2:19:16, with Vukile Makeleni in fourth and Dap Louw rounding out the top five.
On the women’s side Nikita Steele matched her runner-up finish in the first Halcyon event finishing in a time of 2:46:40, while Charlene Moss finished third in 2:54:23.
One last triathlon event for the year was meant to remain on the Buffalo City calendar, with it set to be an ultra race, which would have brought out many athletes who will be taking part in next year’s Ironman 70.3 event.
However, the race might not go ahead according to Buffalo City Triathlon secretary Sherry Wattrus, as other events being held in the city in December are being covered by the traffic department, meaning they may not be able to cover the Triathlon.
If that race does not end up taking place the Ironman in January will be the next major event on the local triathlon calendar.
“My focus at the moment is on the half-Ironman in January and then what will be my first full Ironman in April,” said O’Reilly.
“But it is great to have all of these events here in East London as travelling to compete in others is expensive,” he said.
The Buffalo City SA Champs team is expected to be named in the next two weeks, according to Wattrus.
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