IRONMAN SA
Local hero Kyle Buckingham headlines the 41-strong men's pro field which has been confirmed for the 16th edition of the IRONMAN African Championship in Nelson Mandela Bay on Sunday 21 November.
Buckingham will be chasing his share of the $100,000 USD total professional prize purse on offer as well as one of the IRONMAN World Championship qualification slots.
IRONMAN South Africa Operations Director Paul Wolff has confirmed the full field set at 1200 athletes but that due to the continued status of the COVID-19 pandemic, no spectators will be allowed at the race venue down on the beachfront or on the race course.
In the absence of defending champions, Ben Hoffman (USA) and Lucy Charles-Barclay (GBR), a new IRONMAN African Champion will be crowned in both the men's and women's pro categories.
The male category will be tightly contested with a strong PRO field featuring the likes of Kyle Buckingham (ZAF), Nils Frommhold (GER), Sebastian Kienle (GER), Jesper Svensson (SWE) and Bradley Weiss (ZAF) who is taking on his first full distance IRONMAN as a professional athlete.
The women's field may be smaller but promises to be just as exciting with the likes of Susie Cheetham (GBR) making a return to the course she loves,
Imogen Simmonds (CHE) has been in great form all year and will also be one to watch.
A number of South African athletes will be looking to make a big statement on home soil, including the in-form Natia Van Heerden, Annah Watkinson, Mariella Swayer, Magda Nieuwoudt and Jade Nicole Roberts.
To create more space, the 2021 IRONMAN African Championship welcomes a change to its race course on the swim leg and Transition area.
The event will kick off with a 3.8 km open-water swim at Kings Beach.
Athletes will transition in the Kings Beach Parking Area before taking on a two-loop 180.2 km bike course, leading out of Kings Beach and along Marine Drive towards Schoenmakerskop and from there via Sardinia Bay Road to the Village of Beachview.
Lastly, a four and a half loop 42.2 km run course takes athletes right out of Kings Beach to Driftsands Drive for the first turnaround.
Athletes will then head back through Summerstrand and Humewood beachfronts to Admiralty way to turn for the second time before finishing at Hobie Beach - a course inspired by the 2018 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship which also took place in Nelson Mandela Bay.
