Thomas Van Tonder Takes ‘the Beast’ Elite Series in a Clean Sweep:
Jeep Team’s Thomas Van Tonder finished first at the Beast Challenge Obstacle Course race in Muldersdrift. Photo: The Beast OCR
GAUTENG, MULDERDRIFT – Johannesburg local and South Africa’s top OCR competitor, Thomas van Tonder, takes a clean sweep of all twelve Beast Challenge Obstacle Course races in 2017, after taking the final gold medal at 12th Beast Elite OCR race over the weekend.
The meet, which took place on Saturday, 11 November 2017, saw 140 athletes descended upon The Wedge 4×4 Trail in Muldersdrift for the final Beast Challenge obstacle course races (OCR) of the year.
Along with 31 other competitors, Van Tonder took on the day’s toughest elite race – the 12km, 50-obstacle Savage Beast Race. Van Tonder once again showed why he is nicknamed ‘#BeastMode’, becoming the sole winner of all twelve 2017’s Savage Beast OCR races.
Van Tonder finished his race in 01:13:00, just over 10 minutes ahead of the second-placed Bradley Classe in 01:23:51. Third place went to Vaughan Proctor in a time of 01:36:00.
Says van Tonder following his clean sweep at The Beast, “What a blessing. Taking home 12 of 12 of The Beast series. Another amazing day at the OCR office.”
This family-friendly event offers 3 distinct levels of entry; the Tame Beast, a fun short course suitable for beginners; the Wild Beast, an intermediate race for fitter, more competitive athletes; and the Savage Beast, an elite, gruelling test of physical fitness, strength and mental ability, suitable for serious athletes.
In the women’s elite race, over the exact same course as the men’s elite, Sam Gilchrist took the win in 01:39:18, Cindy Wills claimed silver in a time of 01:40:32, while Sam Ryder rounded off the podium in 01:46:34.
Says Max Cluer, owner of Jeep Team South Africa, “Thomas is a machine who is utterly motivated to be the best he can be. This humble man is loved by all that meet him, even his fiercest competitors. We are extremely proud of him and his national and international achievements this year.”
Results
Savage Beast – Men
1. Thomas van Tonder 01:13:00
2. Bradley Claase 01:23:51
3. Vaughan Proctor 01:36:00
Savage Beast – Women
1. Sam Gilchrist 01:39:18
2. Cindy Wills 01:40:32
3. Sam Ryder 01:46:34
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