Back-to-Back victories for South Africa’s top OCR athlete, Van Tonder
Top South African OCR and Jeep Team athlete, Thomas van Tonder, took back-to-back victories this past weekend at Gauteng’s The Beast and Western Cape’s The Grind’s OCR events.
The action started on Saturday, 25 March, at The Beast Challenge Race#9 at The Wedge 4×4 trail in Muldersdrift, and ended on Sunday at Western Cape’s The Grind 1702 at The Cape Argus Sport Show.
Three Jeep Team SA Elite OCR athletes, Thomas van Tonder, Jay Jay Deysel and Carina Marx, raced the relentless Savage Beast, which included over 50 obstacles over an 11km trail. Jeep team’s OCR superstars, Thomas van Tonder and Carina Marx both took first-place in the Men Elite and the Women Elite events.
In the men’s race, Van Tonder, who is the most successful Beast contender to date, claimed his 9th unbeaten, consecutive Savage Beast victory in a time of 01:09:29, with Bradley Claase, second in 01:12:02, and third to Michael Joubert in 01:23:00. Jeep Team’s Jay Jay Deysel crossed the line in 5th place in a time of 01:25:16.
The women’s race saw an emphatic win for Carina Marx, her 5th Savage Beast title, in a time of 01:48:07, some 17 minutes ahead of the second-placed Sam Gilchrist, and third placed Jetaime Ribbink.
On Sunday, 26 March, van Tonder flew to the Western Cape to compete in The Grind 1702 at the Cape Argus Sport Show held at Sandringham Farm in Stellenbosch. The Grind featured five different events for beginners, fun-seekers, masters and elite athletes.
Van Tonder participated in The Deep Grind Elite, a 10km trail run featuring up to 40 challenging obstacles. Van Tonder rounded off his winning weekend with a first-place finish at The Grind.
Results for Savage Beast – Beast #9
Men:
1. Thomas van Tonder 01:09:29
2. Bradley Claase 01:12:02
3. Michael Joubert 01:23:00
4. Greg Avierinos 01:24:00
5. Jay Jay Deysel 01:25:16
Women:
1. Carina Marx 01:48:07
2. Sam Gilchrist 02:05:12
3. Jetaime Ribbink
OTHER JEEP TEAM NEWS
MTB
Jeep Team’s mountain biking superstar, Pierre Smith, participated in the Lake Umuzi Cosmos 3-in-1 MTB Challenge on 25 March, albeit a day after being hit by a car whilst out on his bike.
This one-day Ultimate 100km multiple-stage race featured the fittest and strongest mountain bikers in the country, consisting of a 68km MTB marathon race in the morning, a 33km MTB half-marathon at lunch time, and a cross-country lap race in the late afternoon.
Smith showed his metal-mentality by competing strapped and bruised, eventually claiming an impressive 3rd place finish overall after finishing 5th in the 68km marathon, 5th in the 33km half-marathon and 3rd in the cross-country lap race. Nothing average about this Smith!
INTERNATIONAL JEEP TEAM – TRACK AND FIELD
The Hurricane Invitational
Jeep Team athlete, Mikaela Jonsson, currently enrolled at Florida Atlantic University, competed in the 2017 Hurricane Invitational at Cobb Stadium at the University of Miami on 18 March 2017. The Hurricane Invitational marked the opening of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Outdoor Season.
Following a week of heavy training, Jonsson set a personal best in the 800m, finishing in third place in a time of 2m14.18s.
Results – 800m
1. Maddie Beaubien (South Carolina) 2:12.92
2. Sharon Dorsey (George Mason) 2:14.02
3. Mikaela Jonsson (Florida Atlantic) 2:14.18
University of Miami Athletics Meet
Not one to shy away from challenges and excited to see just how far she can go in her favoured fast 800m, Freshman Michaela Jonsson (Florida Atlantic University) competed in athletics meet at the University of Miami this past weekend.
A large, highly-competitive group saw Michaela competing against the likes of graduates and freshman from universities such as Harvard, Connecticut and Virginia, as well as a pro-elite field including the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) National Champ and an Olympian athlete.
Jonsson looked like a champion in the making chasing down the field to finally achieve an impressive 8th College Athlete overall and 1st Freshmen after four heats totally 60 athletes.
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