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Ho and Payne King and Queen of aQuellé Midmar Mile
Ho and Payne King and Queen of aQuellé Midmar Mile
Westville ace Chad Ho and British speedster Keri-Anne Payne enthroned themselves as the King and Queen of the aQuellé Midmar Mile open water swim with emphatic victories on Sunday.
Racing in ideal, fast conditions, Ho romped to a record sixth successive title, smashing the race record in the process, finishing 12 seconds ahead of Mark Meyer, with Danie Marais securing the last place on the men's podium, ahead of Jordan le Clos, the younger brother Olympic and World Champion Chad le Clos.
Despite losing his goggles at the start, Ho produced a majestic performance when he reigned in the leading pack which saw the promising Mathew Meyer claim the first "hotspot" at 400m slightly ahead of a determined Ho and a persistent Danie Marais.
Going into the second "hotspot" Ho had started to take control of the race and threw down the challenge to the contenders who were determined not to lose him and continued to draft off him.
It was at this point that Ho extended his lead and as they exited the water he held the edge crossing the finish line in a time of 17:04 slashing a massive 9 seconds off the Polish ace Prezmek Stanzcyk's record effort of 17:13 established in 2004. Meanwhile the search for missing swimmer, Tristan Dennis resumed at the completion of the events on Sunday.
Tarquin Dennis, older brother of missing swimmer Tristan Dennis insisted on taking part in the 2015 Midmar Mile on Sunday to finish the event for his brother. He was joined by friends Craig Swinburne and Shane Beattie who completed event 3 on the Saturday and Grant Clayton.
To ensure that the family are comfortable with Tarquin's decision, members of the South African Navy swam with them monitored by members of Durban Surf Lifesaving Club on boards.
"I am doing this because he is my brother. If he was in a fight I would have his back. Waiting for next year is not good enough I need to have his back now," said Tarquin Dennis on Saturday evening. "The water may have got the better of him today but it will not get the better of me tomorrow," he concluded.
Chad Ho grabbed a record sixth consecutive title atthe aQuellé Midmar Mile.