NEWS

Rabie claims 11th spot at the 2016 Rio Olympics

By Triathlon South Africa | 27 Aug, 2016

RSA’s Elite Triathlon ladies, Gillian Sanders and Mari Rabie, made their mark at the Rio Olympics.  By claiming 11th spot, Mari Rabie became the best placed South African female triathlete at an Olympic Triathlon event. Best achieved before now was a 19th position at the 2012 London Olympic games by Gillian Sanders.

Twenty Nine year old Mari Rabie was the fourth athlete to exit the water, a mere 3 seconds behind Spain’s Carolina Routier. Sanders followed in 42nd position, a further 46 seconds down. Rabie maintained her position in the lead group throughout the bike leg and was the first athlete to dismount and head onto the run course. Three Minutes into the run Rabie fell back into 6th position. Sanders left T2 in 38th position with a 3min17sec deficit. On lap 3 of 4 Rabie had fallen back to 14th position, 1min36sec down on Jorgensen’s lead. Rabie managed to find another gear and leapfrogged three athletes to cross the finish line in 11th position, 2min57sec after Jorgensen became the olympic champion. Sanders finished in 23d position, 5min13sec down on Jorgensen’s winning time.

Rabie’s 11th position at the Olympics is quite an improvement for her from the 2008 Olympic games where she came 43rd after having had a mechanical on her bike. With Rabie being an excellent swimmer and cyclist, any improvements in her running ability will see her creeping to the top and we could well see a top 5, or even a medal, at the Olympics in four years time.

Years of hard work payed off for these ladies and Triathlon South Africa are proud of them for their remarkable performances at the Rio Olympics.

Related Event: Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games
18 - Aug, 2016 • event pageall results
Results: Elite Men
1. Alistair Brownlee GBR 01:45:01
2. Jonathan Brownlee GBR 01:45:07
3. Henri Schoeman RSA 01:45:43
4. Richard Murray RSA 01:45:50
5. Joao Pereira POR 01:45:52
6. Marten Van Riel BEL 01:46:03
7. Vincent Luis FRA 01:46:12
8. Mario Mola ESP 01:46:26
9. Aaron Royle AUS 01:46:42
10. Ryan Bailie AUS 01:47:02
Results: Elite Women
1. Gwen Jorgensen USA 01:56:16
2. Nicola Spirig SUI 01:56:56
3. Vicky Holland GBR 01:57:01
4. Non Stanford GBR 01:57:04
5. Barbara Riveros CHI 01:57:29
6. Emma Moffatt AUS 01:57:55
7. Andrea Hansen NZL 01:58:15
8. Flora Duffy BER 01:58:25
9. Claudia Rivas MEX 01:58:28
10. Rachel Klamer NED 01:58:55