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Burger busts the Friedenau record

The 1.2 km swim proved formidable for most contestants during the Stauch and Partners off triathlon vompetition which is part of the Enduro games.

The 1.2 km swim proved formidable for most contestants during the Stauch and Partners off triathlon vompetition which is part of the Enduro games.

16 year old Jean-Paul Burger on Sunday showed his fellow tri-athletes that they need to train harder if they want to match his performance.
Burger won the Stauch and Partners Off Road Triathlon which took place at Friedenau dam on 07 April 2013. Jean-Paul Burger blitzed the Enduro event, which consised of a 1.2km swim, a 24km cycle and 8.1km run and set a new record for the route in a time of 02:01:59 beating the previous record of 2:09:48 set by Frank Bombosch in 2012 by a remarkable 7min and 49 seconds.
Burger who comes from a swimming background said that although the swim route was easy he did not settle into a natural rhythm and he was beaten out of the water by Mark Brinkmann. Burger pushed the pace to regain the lost time on the swim route and was soon in a comfortable lead position which he maintained throughout the course.
Veteran 40 year old Paul Brinkmann who took overall second position and first in the veteran category had this to say,“ I pushed extremely hard to try to catch Jean Paul but in the first loop of the cycle I realised that this youngster has lifted the pace to a new level we have not seen in Namibia for a long time”. Paul finished in a time of 02:10:03 and his brother Mark Brinkmann finished second in the veteran category and overall third in a time of 02:14:21.Pierre van Rensburg came second in the Elite category in 2hr 16min followed by Adrew Rowles. Stefan Van Doorn came third in the veteran category in a time of 2hr 19 min.
Otb Sport who organised the event and are the main backers behind triathlon in Namibia, said that Jean-Paul was an amazing athlete and they expect the sixteen year old to make a name for himself on the international arena should he decide to do so. They said they were delighted to see fresh talent of this quality coming through the ranks.
Also participating were athletes from the Katutura after-school program, “Physically Active Youth”. Using borrowed bikes and clothing, the athletes managed, for the first time, to score podium positions in this major Namibian triathlon. Martin Sheya won in the Sprint Elite Male age category in a time of 01:00:06. Peter Mawano took third place in the same category. Sofia Simon took third place in the Mini Open Female category. The program currently includes approximately 35 swimmers at all levels and has been coached twice weekly by volunteer coaches Tom Brouns and Julia Mushimba.
The overall female Enduro event was won by the formidable athlete, Irene Steyn, in a time of 02:20:17. In second place was Elke Jagau in 02:32:42 and in third place was Adele de la Rey in 02:36:26. The Male Sprint (600m swim; 10km bike; 2.7km run) was won by Herbert Peters in a time of 00:52:18, another young Namibian talent who if his sprint time is anything to go by will give Jean Paul serious competition next year when he plans to compete in the full event. The female sprint was won by Vera Adrian in a time of 00:57:28.  The Male Mini (300m swim;5km cycle; 1,8km run) was won by Juan Lamprecht in a time of 00:38:03. The Female Mini was won by Hayley Brand in a time of 00:43:17.

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