The Torpedo SwimRun Series is growing, with the recent announcement that the newest event, Torpedo SwimRun Val de Vie, will be happening on 3 February 2019 on the well-known Franschhoek lifestyle estate, and will draw both competitive athletes and beginner swimrunners who want to try out the sport.
Swimrun is a relatively new sport that originated in Sweden, and offers off-road and open-water adventure along coastal and inland waterways, with routes designed around the natural environment and with distances varying from race to race. Torpedo SwimRun is leading the way in developing the sport of swimrun in South Africa, and are rolling out a series of these events for different levels of athletes.
Former Olympic swimming gold medalist Ryk Neethling, Marketing Director for Val de Vie, is so taken with the sport that he has entered the November Torpedo SwimRun Cape event, and is very happy to be hosting a Torpedo SwimRun on the Franschhoek estate in 2019.
November 18 saw the third edition of the pinnacle Torpedo SwimRun Cape. This event has grown significantly since the inaugural event in January 2017, which was also the first swimrun event to be launched in the country, and now attracts top athletes who will be competing for R100k in prize money.
Second Skins, a South African company that has been custom-making performance-enhancing sportswear since 1986, tailored the yellow Torpedo vests that are becoming synonymous with SwimRun. Each Cape podium finisher receives a special edition black Torpedo Second Skin.
Torpedo SwimRun Wild launched in the Wilderness area in September this year, with a 6km prologue and a 26km main event made up of multiple segments of swimming, running and “swambling”, which is a rugged combination of swimming and scrambling over rocks.
A strong SwimRun community has developed over the course of 2017 – 2018, and the sport is fast gaining momentum, especially amongst lifesavers whose strength lies in the open water swimming, and amongst triathletes who are used to the multisport discipline. SwimRun is different in that athletes run in their wetsuits and swim in their running shoes – there are no transitions like you have in triathlon. Open water swimmers such as Ryan Stramrood and Mark de Klerk have also embraced the sport, with Stramrood having started running regularly in order to compete in both the second Cape event, as well as in September’s Wild.
