Jeep Team’s Van Tonder and Marx in Warrior Mode ahead Of OCR World Champs

Jeep Team’s Carina Marx and Thomas van Tonder Savage Beast Race Winners Photo: Kevin Boshoff @BeSnapped

13 SEPTEMBER 2016, JOHANNESBURG – It is less than a month until the world’s top OCR athletes fight it out at the third OCR World Championships from 14-16 October 2016 at the Blue Mountain Resort, Toronto in Ontario, Canada.

Jeep Team athletes, Thomas van Tonder and Carina Marx, have both qualified and have been in full Warrior mode ahead of the World Championship.

Both Van Tonder and Marx were on fire at the recent Battlerush OCR fundraiser, a gruelling OCR Training event designed to push athletes through tough individual obstacles that may be seen at the World Champs; and both won the Savage Beast race at The Beast OCR event this past weekend.

To have qualified for OCR World Champs, South Africans need to have achieved a Jeep Warrior Top 20 finish in an Elite category in their gender, or an Impi Challenge Top 20 finish in the Elite division in their gender.

Van Tonder, over in the past 12 months, has achieved three 1^st places, six 2^nd places, and one 5^th place. Marx, over the same period, has achieved four 2^nd places, four 3^rd places and two 5^th places. Both athletes are well qualified for the Championships but won’t know how they truly compare against the rest of the world until they are neck deep in mud in Ontario.

The OCR athletes selected for Team OCR South Africa to go to World Champs is Thomas van Tonder, Bradley Claase, Michael Joubert and Claude Eksteen (not going) for Men; and Hanneke Dannhauser, Carina Marx and Trish Bahlmann (not going) for Women.

Joining van Tonder and Marx in Canada, is fellow Jeep OCR athlete, JJ Deysel, who was not selected for the SA OCR Team, but will compete in other races over the Championship weekend.

According to the event organisers, the OCR World Championships will put the world’s top athletes through the ultimate physical and mental challenge across a series of obstacles over a distance of approximately 13km and will marry natural elements with some of the most challenging obstacles in OCR history.

While the course will share some of the same terrain and obstacles our team will be used to, a significant portion of the course and obstacles will be new to athletes and unveiled only on race weekend.

It is the first truly-independent global Championship for the burgeoning sport of Obstacle Course Racing. It is a singular event created to unify, promote, and increase participation in the sport of OCR, while celebrating its strong and highly-versatile athletes.

Said Marx, “My OCR path started with my first Rookie (Jeep Warrior Race) two and a half years ago. It was love at first “mud”. I admired the Black Ops Elite ladies for their skills and toughness, even though they looked fairly soft on the outside. It was a dream and a goal of mine to get to that level. Two years later, I joined Jeep Team and selected for Team OCR South Africa, qualifying to take part at the OCR World Champs.”

Said van Tonder: “The Beast 6 was one of the best courses of The Beast Series so far. In this event, I got to run the 5km route with #StandWithStan amputee after our race, an incredibly humbling experience and a reminder of how blessed we are to be able to do what we are doing. This takes my BEAST winning streak to all 6 events. I’m so amped for the World Champs next month.”

THE BEAST 6 RESULTS: SAVAGE BEAST

WOMEN

1. Carina Marx
2. Sabrina Daolio
3. Michelle Meyer

MEN

1. Thomas van Tonder
2. Greg Avierinos
3. Clive Edwards

BATTLERUSH OBSTACLE RESULTS:

• 3-km Scramble Course winners: Thomas Van Tonder, Carina Marx
• Flying Monkey winners: Thomas Van Tonder, Michelle Meyer
• Warped Wall winners: Thomas Van Tonder, Michelle Meyer
• Spear Throw winners: Bradley Claase (new BR record 17.05m)
• Grip Line winners: Thomas Van Tonder, Michelle Meyer
• Devil’s Ladder winners: Marius Smit and Thomas Van Tonder

In other Jeep Team news:

Paddling – McGregor the Machine (sourced from Gameplan Media)

South African Jeep Team paddling icon, Hank McGregor, wants another K1 and potentially a K2 title at the ICF Canoe Marathon Masters World Championships taking place in Brandenberg, Germany from 16 to 18 September.

McGregor believes the German facility may well suit him better than the course in Gyor, Hungary where he won gold in the K1 event and silver in the K2 with doubles partner, Jasper Mocké.

“After all the years of racing international marathon championships, the German course is still one that I haven’t raced on,” the Euro Steel/Kayak Centre ace mentioned. “From what I can see, the course is far more open than last year’s.

“Also it isn’t on a river, which will suit me better, and if the wind picks up then the race might become a little like a surfski race, which again should benefit me.

“At about 210 metres, the portage is about three times as long as last year’s, so if you are not a strong runner then you might battle.”

“My partner, Jasper Mocké, is also in good form at the moment and came off a good win at the Breede Canoe Marathon recently, so if we can just make sure we remain fit and healthy then I think we should be in with a good shout in the K2 race as well.

“Having narrowly missed out on gold in the K2 last year in the end sprint, we have got more than enough motivation to rectify that this year and we are going out there to do our best and give it a proper shot,” added McGregor.

The world’s best marathon paddlers will gather to attempt to dethrone McGregor – who has claimed the global K1 crown a remarkable four times in the past five years – and with the majority of the challenge likely to come from Europe, McGregor understands the threat that the rest of the field poses to his crown.

“I can’t really single out any specific challenger but the Portuguese, Spanish and Hungarians always provide a really stern test.

“Andy Birkett will also be there and he has been going really well with his World Cup win recently, so the field is going to be incredibly strong and I will need to make sure I am in good shape and healthy so I can be in with a chance,” explained a confident McGregor.

Source: With thanks to Gameplan Media

Other paddling news:

Jeep Team Paddle Veteran and former South African Team Captain, Barry Lewin, recently led a group of experienced paddlers on an exploratory trip along the KwaZulu-Natal coastline from Cape Vidal to St Lucia.

Lewin is working closely with iSimangaliso Wetland Park to create an annual paddling event that will raise funds and awareness for the Wetland Conservation area from Cape Vidal to St Lucia.

Said Lewin, “We had such a great weekend away in St Lucia. I have been working with the Park to set up a race there in the future and am blown away by what we have right on our doorstep, Africa is amazing. We paddled from Cape Vidal to St Lucia on a nice NE with some great people.”

MTB

Jeep Team’s MTB athlete, Thinus Redelinghuys placed 8^th in the ultra-marathon at Ashburton National MTB Series #6, which took place at Dulstroom at Dunkeld Country Estate on 3rd September.

The National MTB Series consists of seven events across 6 provinces over an eight month period.

The final event in the series takes place Rooiberg on 15^th October 2016 at the Rooberg Golf Club.

#JeepTeamSA            

Jeep Team’s Thomas van Tonder Savage Beast Race Winner Photo: Kevin Boshoff @BeSnapped

Jeep Team’s Carina Marx Savage Beast Race Winner Photo: Kevin Boshoff @BeSnapped

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https://www.youtube.com/user/JeepTeamSA