THE annual MTN Off-Road Triathlon that took place at Friedenau Dam on Sunday 1 April 2012 attracted over 200 participants.  The individual endurance race consisted of a 1.2 km swim, 24 km bike ride and an 8.7 km run, which turned out to be the highlight of the day. Frank Bombosch showed once again why he once was an Olympic hopeful by finishing first overall in a time of 2:09:48.

Bombosch had a solid swim, followed by an intense stride during the bike-ride, thus creating a comfortable lead between him and the pack of contenders fighting it out for second place.
The race for second place was fought out between Phillip Steyn, Patrick De Goede, Paddy Murphy, Andy Chase and Archie Graham.   For the first time in Namibian triathlon history, five athletes contested for second place as they went into the final stage.
Murphy took the lead as the pack went into the run.  Heading onto the single-track down towards the river the pace became intense and Murphy tripped on a fence, falling head over heels into the bushes, with the rest of the pack virtually tripping over him.
In the spirit of triathlon camaraderie the competitors took a breather to pick up and dust Murphy off and then they took off at full pace again. Steyn had an excellent run and took the lead beating Murphy for second place.  Steyns’ second-place victory was a big surprise after beating triathlon legends Paddy Murphy and Patrick de Goede.  Steyn is in top form and it is clear that his training for the Iron Man contest in South Africa is paying off. Murphy came in third in a time of 2:10:30 and won the Masters age category. 
Another new shining star was 15-year old Jean-Paul Burger who took 7th position overall in a time of 2:18:49. “I think it’s safe to say that this is the best local field ever assembled on Namibian soil in the 25 years triathlon has been around” says 2010 winner, Patrick de Goede. The female endurance race was a closely-fought battle between Genevieve Weber and Irene Steyn.  Weber however came out tops, winning the race in a time of 2:28:25. “This was my first full-distance triathlon, so it was a big step up for me.  The swim went very well and the bike was good, but I prefer a more technical route as this gives me competitive advantage.  I took a bit of strain on the bike this time due to the course being more jeep track” says the winning Weber.