THE Jendamark Bellbuoy Challenge will be the first stop on the international swimming circuit’s Open Water World Tour (OWWT) which kicks off this weekend, Saturday, April 13.
Nelson Mandela Bay, home of the Jendamark Bellbuoy Challenge for the past 10 years, will be reaffirming its presence on the international stage by hosting the first ever OWWT event in the southern hemisphere.
This gives another major boost to the city and the Bay’s reputation of being the destination of choice for ocean events in Southern Africa.
Participants will come from far and wide to take part in this year’s showpiece and this is represented in the statistics for the race with 21% of the 2019 event’s participants coming from destinations outside of Port Elizabeth and a further 2% made up of international competitors.
Most of the favourites for the race also come out of these two categories. One such participant is Africa’s fastest long-distance swimmer, Tyron Venter. Venter is a world record holder in no fewer than five different categories and will most definitely be stating his claim for the overall prize.
There are a number of top PE-based swimmers who will be fighting it out for the R10 000 first prize. Another great feature of the Jendamark Bellbuoy Challenge is the equal distribution of the prize purse. The R76 000 will be split evenly between the men and ladies’ categories.
For the 200 competitors taking part in the Indian Ocean’s premier swim, there will be a meet and greet at News Cafe on Friday, April 12, where officials will go over safety precautions and participants can collect their race packs.
The gun will go off at 08:30 on Saturday for the start of the 10th Jendamark Bellbuoy Challenge and should make for fascinating viewing.
