GEORGE NEWS FLASH - The changes to the route of the 15th OCC necessitated to accommodate the local business community has resulted in the event coming of age.
The shorter route and the staggered starting times - 07:30, 08:30 & 09:30 – ensured a huge improvement in the safety of the participants. This meant that the route was clear for each race - the 10 km, the 5 km fun section and the highly competitive 42,2 km marathon and 21,1 half-marathon.
In the past the 5km fun section, in which approximately one thousand Georgians annually volunteer to push the wheelchairs, had to cross the route into Mount View Resort while the competitive athletes in hand cycles and racing wheelchairs were still racing.
Due to a request from some of the participants, a last minute decision just before the start of the event was made to change the turnaround point at the entrance to Pacaltsdorp, giving participants more space to manoeuvre.
The new format and layout will have to be fine-tuned for next year’s race, but the basis that was lain this year, will result in the OCC becoming an even bigger event.
The results of the 2017 OCC
Men’s 42,2km:
Hand cycle category Steward Mc Creadie (South Africa) 1:07:25
Racing chair Ernest van Dyk (South Africa) 1:46:13
Quads Pieter du Preez (South Africa) 1:44:10
Women’s 42,2km
Hand cycle Justine Asher (South Africa) 1:32:44
Racing chair Ayishetu Sedu (Ghana) 2:40:59
Men’s 21,1km
Racing chair (T53/54) Knowledge Munogweyi (Zimbabwe) 1:18:21
Racing chair (T51/52) Wilson Nyakoko (Zimbabwe) 1:28:49
Hand cycle Gert van Wyk (South Africa) 50:29
Women’s 21,1km
Racing chair (T51/52) Thandwe Ndhlovu (Zimbabwe) 1:25:43
Racing chair (T53/54) Ratidzo Tomu (Zimbabwe) 1:29:28
ARTICLE: MYRON RABINOWITZ, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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