Nico Sterk wins Pupkewitz Jetty Mile

A total of 150 swimmers participated in the annual holiday event the Pupkewitz Jetty Mile in Swakopmund last Thursday.

It attracted a wide range of swimmers, from social to South African Olympic calibre, ranging between the ages of 5 (sprint distance) to 71 years. The beach front from Tiger Reef Beach Bar to the Mole was lined with supporters and spectators. Participants could choose between the Full Jetty Mile, which started at Tiger Reef and ended at the Mole or a shorter Sprint that took place in the Mole.

The start of the Jetty Mile was preceeded by a minute of silence for the late Mr Harold Pupkewitz, who through the Pupkewitz Foundation had supported and generously sponsored the event since its inception in 2007. Mr Pupkewitz's daughter, Meryl Barry, was there to shoot the starting gun for both the Jetty Mile and Sprint events.
The idyllic conditions and the field of top swimmers from Namibia and South Africa made the Pupkewitz Jetty Mile, as expected, an extremely tight race. It was impossible to predict the winners. Favourites were Florian Hentzen, last year's winner, and Quinton Delie, big and strong, perfect for open water swimming. Boris Kulikowski, local Swakopmunder and runner-up in last year's event, has participated in the event since the inception and was itching to win the 2012 race.

The race started at a furious pace with 15 swimmers forming a tight pack. The pack lasted to the Jetty ? each swimmer trying to stay with the pack and get some advantage from drafting. The pack offers the additional benefit of minimising the risk of swimming skew. Seasoned SA triathlete Nico Sterk was also determined in his third attempt to win this race. Sterk used his open water swimming experience to work out the best strategy. He remained quietly close to the front of the pack until just before the bouy 200 meters north of the Mole, before launching a brazen attack going at full sprint and moving rapidly past the pack and exiting the water seconds in front of Delie.

Once on dry land, it was a given that Sterk would take first place. He proved unbeatable in the 300m run dash to the finish line, his triathlon training standing him in good stead. Sterk's finishing time was 25:04, followed by Delie in 25:12. Third out the water and winner of the under 15 age category, was Phillip Seidler ? three seconds behind Delie, which was a remarkable time for this youthful swimmer.

SA Olympic swimmer Karin Prinsloo was the first female across the line in 25:34. In second position was last year's winner, Silja Hentzen, in a time of 28:25. Third was Gabriella Liebenberg in 29:26.

The 650 m sprint race was once again tight, but in the end Namibia's top sprinter JP Engelbrecht was unbeatable. He crossed the line first in a time of 9:27, closely followed by the winner of the U16 category, Lushano Lamprecht in 09:31. Third overall was Macquelin Winkler in 10:07.

The first overall female in the sprint and winner of U14 category was Molina Smalley in 09:43. Second overall was Kiara Schatz in 09:47, followed by the winner of the female open age category, Anna Meaden in 11:32.

Event organisers OTB Sport said the race conditions were excellent, far better than predicted. The temperature was around 15 degrees and not the 13 degrees that had been feared. The sea was relatively calm and with the sunshine and a mass of spectators urging on the participants, and the beautiful backdrop the race can easily be described as one of the best in Africa.

OTB Sport also expressed its delight to see Mrs Pupkewitz and her daughter, Meryl, at the event. Mrs Pupkewitz had attended the event each year with her late husband and the family's personal presence was very much part of the tradition of the event.

Full results are available online at www.otbsport.com.