Gqeberha’s
Kyle Buckingham has been crowned the winner of the IRONMAN African
Championship, finishing the race in an impressive 07:16:31.
Buckingham,
who also won the 2018 championships, dedicated the win to his son and to his father
who passed away in 2018 and his mom who died last year.
“This
is for my mum and dad who I’ve lost in 2018 and 2021, that was all I was
thinking of in those last 2km, to do it for them and my little boy. I didn’t
give up and I’m just so happy to take the win again,” Buckingham said.
He
held off a charging Bradley Weiss in a thrilling finish, while fellow South
African Matty Trautman was another 46 seconds back in 3rd place.
Britain’s
Joe Skipper had shared the lead off the bike, but he had to settle for fourth
in a race which had a shortened swim of just 700 metres due to of choppy sea
conditions.
Buckingham
had moved into the lead in the first few kilometres of the run – and with less
than 10km to go his advantage had moved to over a minute. However, Weiss
unleashed a stunning late burst to get within touching distance, just 11
seconds behind at the final time check with a little under 3km to go.
Despite
frequently looking over his shoulder, Buckingham maintained his own form
superbly and just had enough in reserve to claim a famous win.
.
