Clifton’s juniors and seniors combined to beat off the challenge of Fish Hoek in the most enthralling three days of competition at the DHL Lifesaving SA National Club Championships at Kings Beach, Gqeberha.
Only four points separated the two Western Province clubs.
Individually, Clifton’s teenage duo of Naor Lombard and Samuel Booysen soared and sizzled on the final day.
Lombard took the blue-ribbon marque gold in the Male Open Iron and completed the Iron Double by winning the U19 race.
Lombard, a current world champion, was among Clifton’s inspirational individual performers as the Cape-based lifesaving club took overall honours from provincial club rivals Fish Hoek in a thrilling finale, finishing with 589 points to Fish Hoek’s 585.
Clifton’s juniors were tops and Fish Hoek’s seniors ended first, but when the divisions were combined, it was Clifton who took the title.
KwaZulu-Natal’s Umhlanga Rocks produced a strong overall club performance with 437 points, with many super individual results. Llandudno was also among the strongest clubs at this year’s surf event, finishing fourth with 282 points.
The seniors and juniors take to the pool at Newton Park on Monday, but over the weekend it was all surf and sand as the likes of Lombard and Booysen delivered on their world champion status.
Both had won world championship golds at the 2022 Lifesaving World Championships, and both were among the favourites to dazzle in Gqeberha. Neither disappointed.
Lombard showed all his class in the Iron, and Booysen was supreme in the Male Open Beach Sprints and Beach Flags, and the U19 Male Beach Sprints and Beach Flags, winning four individual golds.
Fish Hoek teenager Georgia Singe and Umhlanga’s Sasha-Lee Nordegen Corris were all the talk over the opening two days, as they won gold after gold.
Nordegen Corris, a regular in the South African national team, won the prestigious Iron and Singe owned the surf events in the Female Open and U19 events in which she competed.
Nordegen Corris was named Female Open Athlete of the Championships, with Singe the best U17 Female Athlete.
Umhlanga’s Challenors made it a golden family affair in the Female Open Beach Race and the Female Open Beach Sprint. Rylee-Kai Challenor and Jenna Challenor took first and second place in the Beach Run and Nicolette Challenor won gold in the Beach Sprint.
The Tuks A quartet were popular winners in the Male Open Rescue Tube Rescue, and the Tuks female quartet were not to be outdone, as they combined to win the Female Open Rescue Tube Rescue.
Among the locals, Kings Beach’s Keegan Cooke was among the medalists, and Summerstrand’s Keira van Heerden won the Female U19 Run/Swim/Run. Summerstrand’s Christian Davidson enjoyed a successful event, and Scottburgh’s 17-year-old Tyne van Achterberg showed his class by taking several golds.
Umhlanga’s Matthew Coetzer and Saskia Hockley were among the stars in the U19 division, and Hockley won a dramatic Iron Race against Pirates’s Tannah Smith.
*For all the results visit https://liveheats.com
Competitors of the tournament:
U19 Saskia Hockly – Female Naor Lombard – Male
U17 Georgia Singe – Female Tyne van Achterberg – Male
U15 Daniella Harcus – Female Ryley Smith – Male
Open Seniors Luke Nisbet – Male Sasha-Lee Nordegen Corris – Female
For more information visit www.lifesaving.co.za or follow Lifesaving South Africa on social media: @LifesavingSouthAfrica.
Stay tuned:
- 3 April to 5 April: Nipper Surf Competition (Kings Beach)
- 3 April to 5 April: Juniors and Seniors Pool Competition (Newton Park Pool)
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Picture: Ant Grote / LSA