By Team Tri Fit
Published June 30, 2023
It is official, the dust has settled at Chale Island where 70 triathletes took on the second edition of the Chale Island Triathlon on June 18, 2023. Twenty five women, 35 men and 11 relay teams took on an 800-metre open water swim through the Chale Channel, a rocky, muddy and sandy 30 kilometres off road bike course through Chale, Ramisi, Makongeni and Kinondo followed by a relatively flat and fast 7.5-kilometre run course around Chale Harbour. The fun yet challenging event brought together triathletes, both young and old, from across Kenya for what has been dubbed ‘Kenya’s island triathlon’.
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The event tested each participants speed, endurance and mental grit with the bulk of the work coming on the now famous Chale bike course.
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In the women’s category, Mireille Van Dongen took first place in a time of 2hrs 17min and was followed by Maria Lunt in second place in a time of 2hrs 19min. To close off the podium, Yvonne Muinde took third place in a time of 2hrs 37min.
In the men’s category, Arnav Kapur continued his domination of the TTF race circuit with a second win in a time of 1hr 59min. With a blistering bike and run, he set the pace for Shaun Lunt who came in second in a time of 2hrs 5min followed by Sylvain Julien Buron in a time of 2hrs 6min.
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In the teams category, Mombasa-based Team Ali Doctor 001 took top honours in a time of 2hrs 5min. They were followed by Team E=Gin2 who came in second in a time of 2hrs 30min and were followed by Drunken Masters who took third place in a time of 2hrs 36min.
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The event closed with an awards ceremony at Sands at Chale Harbour where participants, partners and supporters came together to ‘replenish lost calories’ courtesy of Sands at Chale Hotel, Flora Margarine, Bio Foods and Club Soda. Furthermore, the ‘island warriors’ took time to recount their adventures from the day as they enjoyed the sunset across the ocean.
All roads now lead to the Kilifi Gold Triathlon set for September 23, 2023. With a 750-metre swim in the Kilifi Creek, followed by a panoramic 20KM cycle and 5KM run through the beautiful sisal plantations of Kilifi County.
