Bay lifesavers excel at champs
Summerstrand and host club Kings Beach hogged the podium at the General Tire Lifesaving South Africa National Club Masters in Port Elizabeth on Sunday.
Lifesaving’s national club championships will see 1,700 athletes battle for pool, surf and sand supremacy in a seven-day festival that combines the masters, nippers, seniors and juniors in the surf and pool championships respectively.
Summerstrand’s Tracy Gouws, so impressive a year ago, was again the star on Sunday, which is reserved for the masters competitors.
Gouws won the surf swim, board race and swim/run/ swim.
She also placed third in the single ski.
Club teammate Natalie Goedhuls also took four medals, in two first places in the run/swim/run and the single ski and second place in the board race and surf swim.
The masters division starts in the age category 30-34 and finishes with 70-plus.
In the latter category, Bruce Darbyshire-Roberts won two first places and Ant Foster finished in the medals in all three male categories.
Durban Surf’s Sihle Trevor Xaba, who stars in the Durban Beach Rescue TV series, was a popular finisher in the ski race, aged 40-44.
Durban Pro’s Siyanda Ngexe finished first in the 30-34 run/ swim/run.
Other veterans who enjoyed success, included Summerstrand’s Rob Smith, Kings Beach’s Terry Billson, Ken Richard, Christian Callebaunt, Andre van Rooyen, Antje Hockley, Brent Challenor, Nina Loftus, Gina McCelland and the Ethekwini duo of Mluleki Mthethwa and Mfana Mkhizi.
The surf action stays at Kings Beach on Monday when nippers compete for glory until Wednesday.
The masters, seniors and juniors take to the pool from Monday, finishing on Wednesday. The week’s proceedings reach a climax with the seniors and juniors surf championship from Thursday to Saturday.
The nippers will complete their pool championship during the same time.