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Marais and Edwards favourites for inaugural Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 Durban

Marais is known as a strong runner but is also a good all-round triathlete. If he is near the front of the pack coming off the bike he will have every chance at winning. His maiden win at IRONMAN 70.3 Pescara in Italy saw him rebuff the challenge of experienced Italian athlete, Domineco Passuello. Similarly, his second place finish at the Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa was arguably tougher having to see off competition from Kyle Buckingham and IRONMAN 70.3 European champion, Bart Aernouts only for Matt Trautman, probably South Africa’s long-distance triathlete of the moment, to pass him with less than 5km to go.
His strongest competition will come in the form of Travis Johnston and Michael Davidson. Johnston, who comes from a duathlon background, recently switched focus from Olympic qualification to IRONMAN 70.3 racing. If he can manage a consistent swim he could pose a genuine threat to the lead. Davidson has won a half-distance race in Durban but has yet to taste victory at an IRONMAN 70.3 race. Durban’s own Donovan Van Gelder will also be in the mix and will use his 20 plus years of experience and knowledge of the local conditions to his advantage.
The professional women’s field will be more unpredictable with a strong line-up featuring some prominent international athletes headlined by Great Britain’s Parys Edwards and the Czech Republic’s Lucie Reed.
Both athletes competed at the Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa in Buffalo City but it was Edwards he came out on top, finishing third behind fellow Britons, Jodie Swallow and Susie Cheetham while Reed suffered a stomach bug forcing her to withdraw during the bike leg.
Edwards has since gone on to record her maiden win at IRONMAN 70.3 Subic Bay and is definitely on the rise. She is the form athlete going into the race and will not be too unfamiliar with the local conditions being born in Zimbabwe before representing both Zimbabwe and South Africa at hockey before moving to the UK.
Reed brings with her a wealth of experience being an IRONMAN 70.3 champion and consistent podium finisher. The Czech, who now lives in Johannesburg, is a strong swimmer and cyclist and is used to competing in strong fields.
Competing in South Africa for the first time is US athlete, Kendra Goffredo. Goffredo will come into the race as something of an unknown quantity. She was a top 10 finisher at IRONMAN 70.3 Pucon in Chile earlier this year but whether she can challenge for the podium remains to be seen.
Andrea Steyn will be flying the South African flag in the women’s professional field. Known for her strong performances across the standard distance, Steyn is an accomplished athlete from a duathlon background. Her real strength lies in her biking ability and her 7th place finish at the Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 South Africa shows that she could be in contention for a first IRONMAN 70.3 career podium.
The Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 Durban takes place in the city for the first time and will see a sold-out field of 3000 athletes, 89% of which will be coming from outside of Durban. This makes the race the biggest triathlon ever to be hosted in Durban.

Welcome to our Race Day coverage of the inaugural Standard Bank IRONMAN 70.3 Durban.

We're minutes away from the PRO Start. PRO men starting at 07h00, PRO women at 07h02 and age group rolling start at 07h15

PRO Men have started.

And the PRO women are off.

Age Group athletes are now in the water. The first time a rolling start is used in South Africa.

Top 6 Pro Men Swim Exit:

1 NAUDE, Rudolf RSA -- -- 00:25:04
2 LAMPRET, Freddy RSA -- -- 00:25:46
3 MARAIS, Stuart RSA -- -- 00:26:06
4 DE BRUIN, Gerhard RSA -- -- 00:26:57
5 JOHNSTON, Travis RSA -- -- 00:27:02
6 DAVIDSON, Michael RSA -- -- 00:27:04

Top Men at the 14Km mark

MARAIS, Stuart RSA
NAUDE, Rudolf RSA
LAMPRET, Freddy RSA
DE BRUIN, Gerhard RSA
JOHNSTON, Travis RSA
DAVIDSON, Michael RSA

Local rugby legend John Smit is out the water and on the bike course

The order of the top pro men remains mostly unchanged, with Stuart opening his lead to 4 minutes

MARAIS, Stuart RSA
NAUDE, Rudolf RSA
DE BRUIN, Gerhard RSA
LAMPRET, Freddy RSA
JOHNSTON, Travis RSA
DAVIDSON, Michael RSA

The top 3 pro ladies are in one group with Kendra chasing form far behind

The men's race is starting to heat up with Stuart opening his lead to 5 mins, and Travis leading the chase in second

The time gaps at 71Km

Stuart MARAIS Pro 02:10:45
Travis JOHNSTON Pro +00:07:00
Michael DAVIDSON Pro +00:07:01

Our leading Women have passed 70Km and are still only meters apart.