On 23 March 2019, South Africa’s largest obstacle course race (OCR) series, Toyota WARRIOR, powered by Reebok, returned to Namibia to host its second international event.
Enticing a wide range of athletes, it never ceases to amaze that hundreds of men and women of all shapes, sizes and ages will drive and fly long distances, to push themselves beyond human limits, never quitting, scrambling, digging in and fighting the fear of (failure, heights, water, mud, pain,) over massively tough and often terrifying obstacles, requiring every muscle group to perform at optimum until the end, just to be called The Toyota WARRIOR of Namibia. They say you leave a braver and better version of yourself?
Heja Lodge hosted Saturday’s gruelling Toyota WARRIOR Black Ops and Black Ops Elite Race, a 12km course of just 30-obstacles.
The talking point was the men’s competitive Black Ops Elite race, where ‘new’ dangerman, Armin Botha (BLACK OPS Fitness), beat both Louis Smit (KeyHealth NEVAREST Team), who finished second, and Thomas van Tonder (WARRIOR Brand Ambassador), who took bronze, by 4 minutes and 8 minutes respectively. Van Tonder would call that a thrashing!
Said Botha after his massive win, “I had a tremendous time in Namibia; travelling in great company, Louis Smit and Thomas van Tonder, and ultimately crossing the line in first place after a tough battle in unrelenting terrain.
To everyone that braved the conditions, to the hospitable people of Namibia, to our host family, the crew and organisers, thank you for making this an unforgettable race and journey.”
Louis Smit agreed “WARRIOR Namibia was an awesome race. Despite the back-breaking carries, I somehow managed to bag second place against a storming Armin, who lead the race from start to finish, and with Thomas chasing, I couldn’t make any mistakes. It’s always an honour racing against the best in the business.”
In the women’s Black Ops Elite race, the only competitor, Dominique D’Oliveira, braved the extreme heat and the high altitude with the men, finishing in 01h42m55s, placing her in an impressive 10th place overall, just over 25 minutes behind the men’s elite winner, Armin Botha, and only 17 minutes behind multiple-Black Ops Elite Race and Series Champion, Van Tonder!
“For an event I initially wasn’t planning to take part in, this weekend turned out to be a rather rewarding experience! At first, because I was the only female, my victory felt like a bit of an anti-climax, but then I was reminded that the reward had already been earned through the hard work and commitment I’ve been putting into my training – it earned me a top 10 finish, just over 25 minutes behind the super-speedy Armin Botha,” comments South African OCR Sprint Champion, D’Oliveira.
In the 10km, 20-obstacle Commando Elite race, the men’s top three were Absalom Tjakula in first, Jose Mathews in second, and Pieter Mostert in third; and Louise Breed in first, Catherine Errington in second and Annelien Van Wyk in third in the Women’s Commando Elite.
The podium finishers in the 5km, 15-obstacle Rookie Elite men’s race were Cobus Albertus Harmse in first (59m43), Leonard Shemuvalula in second ( 01h00m17), and Ruan Coetzee in third (01h03m31).
In the women’s Rookie elite race, Hannah De Goede took gold (01h05m55), Hannah Heyns took silver (01h11m26), and bronze went to Elizabeth Haikali (01h11m35).
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#BeMore and don’t miss out on the Toyota #WARRIOR3, powered by Reebok, on 6 April in Pretoria. Visit www.warrior.co.za to enter today!
Results – Toyota Warrior Namibia
Black Ops Elite
Men
1. Armin Botha 01:16:32
2. Louis Smit 01:21:10
3. Thomas van Tonder 01:24:38
Women
1. Dominique D’Oliveira 01:42:55
Commando Elite
Men
1. Absalom Tjakula 01:29:30
2. Jose Mathews 01:36:17
3. Pieter Mostert 01:38:26
Women
1. Louise Breed 01:57:34
2. Catherine Errington 02:03:31
3. Annelien Van Wyk 02:37:22
Rookie Elite
Men
1. Cobus Albertus Harmse 00:59:43
2. Leonard Shemuvalula 01:00:17
3. Ruan Coetzee 01:03:31
Women
1. Hannah De Goede 01:05:55
2. Hannah Heyns 01:11:26
3. Elizabeth Haikali 01:11:35
For the full results of Toyota WARRIOR Namibia, visit www.seedingsa.com.
For more information or to enter, visit www.warrior.co.za.
New Black Ops Elite Threat Emerges at Warrior Namibiahttps://t.co/5uPcYEwqG8 #ArriveAlive #BlackOpsElite #ToyotaWarrior @ToyotaSA pic.twitter.com/kU8bNshOGC
— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) March 28, 2019