The 16-year-old Maximilian Siedentopf was the overall winner of the inaugural Pupkewitz Jetty Mile which took place in Swakopmund on Friday, December 28.
Siedentopf covered the event, which consisted of a one mile swim and another mile run, in a time of 29 minutes 54 seconds.
The event started at the Tiger Reef Beach Bar, with participants swimming one mile from the aquarium to the Mole and then running one mile back to the Tiger Reef Beach Bar. More than 65 participants took part, making this the biggest open water swim in Namibia.
Sea conditions were tough with a big swell and cold temperatures but it all added to the general excitement of the event and all the finishers were cheered on by a large group of spectators basking in late afternoon sunshine.
Besides being the overall winner, Siedentopf also won the Male Scholar category.
Bobby-Jo Bassingthwaithe was the first female in and winner of the Open Female category, while Corinna Wahl won the Female scholar and Alex Ray the Open Male categories.
The event organizers, OTB Sport, also arranged a parallel rookie event which took place at The Mole. The winners of the Rookie event were Ilke Preschel and Neurath Botha.
Based on the success of the inaugural Pupkewitz Jetty Mile and following the generous commitment from Harald Pupkewitz to sponsor the event annually, the Pupkewitz Jetty Mile is sure to become one of the key events on the Namibian sports calendar.
Full details of race results and photos are available on the OTB Sport website: www.otbsport.com