Mariental-South Africa and Germany walk away with top spots at Mariental Triathlon. The annual Mariental Triathlon drew 18 elite Tri-athletes from across the world who are in search of extra points to increase their chances of qualifying for the Olympics. The popular local Triathlon reached new heights this year as they successful hosted their first Africa Triathlon Union Championship. The hosting of such an event does not just make the Mariental Triathlon a great way to test the fitness of Namibian tri-athletes but it also doubles up for international professionals to use the platform as an opportunity to collect points, in hopes of bettering their chances to qualify for the Olympics. The day kicked off with the usual 1,5km swim followed by a very intense 40km bike ride and ending on a one lap 10km Run. In the men's category there was a set of a four-man pack breaking away as early as the first lap of the 1,5km swim, keeping their sturdy lead throughout the race. In the lady’s category there were only 3 participants with each woman guaranteed a podium finish. It was, however, at the 5km turning point of the run where the front runner Shenea Williams was disqualified due to being unable to further compete as she tore a ligament in her left arm. In the men’s race the German national and top ranked athlete Jonas Schomburg took first place in a time of 1:53:58, followed by Ireland's Shaw Benjamin in second clocking in at a time of 1:54:09 short on his heels was yet another German National Jonas Breinlinger taking last spot on the podium with a time of 1:54:58. “It was a very good race, very challenging but good. The running at the end was most probably the biggest challenge" Schomburg said. With Williams out of the race it was up to Jodie Berry and Ashleigh Blackwell to run it out for the top spot. At the end Blackwell managed to pull away from Berry to gain a one minute 30 second lead taking top honours in the women’s elite category clocking in at 2:34:14 "completely happy with the win it has been a long time since I participated in a competition so its a good one for me" Blackwell said. Berry managed a time of 2:35:41 The only Namibian in the bunch was Gareth Jooste finishing 12th with a time of 2:08:22. The Mariental Triathlon Club hope to host another ATU championship next year.