ADVERTORIAL
Midmar Champions Recrowned
The elite races at the aQuellé Midmar Mile in March saw Durban swimmer Michael McGlynn successfully defending the men ’ s title he claimed for the first time last year , while Rio Olympian Michelle Weber regained the women ’ s crown she last held in 2016 .
Conditions at Midmar Dam , just outside Howick in KwaZulu-Natal , were ideal as the mist lifted to reveal glassy , flat water on the 1.6km course . Tackling a field of 20 other top-ranked women , Weber powered to the front from the start , hitting every hotspot at 400m , 800m and 1200m comfortably out in front . Defending champion Robyn Kinghorn went well wide and it cost her , while 18-year-old Tori Earle followed Weber ’ s lead . The Olympian cruised to victory untroubled , finishing in 19 minutes and 40 seconds , with Earle second in 19:55 and Carli Antonopoulos winning the running battle at the finish for third spot in 20:12 .
“ It went very well . I saw the conditions were really flat and decided I ’ m going to dive off the pontoon , just take a few easy strokes , and get the feel of the whole vibe of the day . Then after that I just put my head down and went faster and faster , so it was a good race ,” said Weber . “ I wasn ’ t sure where everyone else was , or how far they were behind me . I did see someone on the very right hand side , but I just said to myself : ‘ No , it ’ s fine , I ’ m just going to keep going .’ You don ’ t want to get too tense in open water , because there ’ s so much going on – and there ’ s the fear of the dark water – it ’ s very easy to get overwhelmed . You just have to stay calm , enjoy it , have fun and do your best .”
First Repeat Since 2016
McGlynn certainly felt the pressure as he dived in as defending champion in the men ’ s race . Following a similar pattern to the women ’ s , he led from start to finish , hitting all the hotspots in front and crossing the line in 17:55 . The tussle for the other places was a much fiercer one out in the water and on the slipway at the finish . Danie Marais eventually finished second in 18:25 , with 18-year-old Connor Buck third , six second later .
“ Obviously the pressure was huge . It ’ s very different coming here the second time and trying to win compared to when you have no title and you ’ ve got nothing to lose ,” admitted McGlynn . “ But God gave me the strength and I just kept the faith that I would not fall apart and just keep it together , really . This race is becoming more of a sprint . I ’ m not looking for any records or anything like that , but it ’ s great to defend and walk away happy . It ’ s great to have the pressure off .”
Not since Chad Ho ’ s incredible run from 2010 to 2016 has there been a back-toback winner of the men ’ s race , and McGlynn was thrilled to be the first since then . “ I know there ’ s been a bit of a gap recently , with guys winning one and then not defending . I just wanted to really show that I can do that as well , and thank you to everyone for the support .”
Weber ’ s last victory in 2016 also came in an Olympic year , and with the 24-yearold looking to qualify for the Tokyo Games , she was thrilled with Sunday ’ s win . “ It ’ s so strange , because I won it in 2016 , which was an Olympic year , and then I didn ’ t win it last year , so it was like a weird superstition thing . Now the Olympics have moved to this year so I ’ m very happy that I won this year – it ’ s just a mental thing .”
Speaking about the race itself , McGlynn added : “ I went a bit off course , actually , like I did last year , but I got back on track and just took it from there . My arms and legs were burning , and the last three or four hundred metres I was really tired , but I didn ’ t want it to be over . I wanted to feel the pain , because I actually wanted to remember this one . I think last year the hype afterwards kind of ran away with me , but after a year I ’ m a bit more mature to deal with all the emotions that come with it this time .”
Michelle Weber Top Three Women
Top Three Men
Images : Courtesy Midmar Mile
Michael McGlynn
For full results , head to https :// results . finishtime . co . za / results . aspx ? CId = 35 & RId = 3219 .
21