Rein van Veen competing in the Pupkewitz Jetty Mile competition.

The competition was held in Swakopmund on 28 December, with an added mile run back to the Tiger Reef Beach Bar.
The overall winner and winner in the Male Scholar category was Maximilian Siedentopf who was in with a time slot of 29 minutes 54 seconds. Bobby-Jo Bassingthwaite was the female winner in the Open Female category and Corinna Wahl won the first Female scholar and Alex Ray the Open Male category.
Event organizers OTB Sport said the sea conditions were tough with big swell and cold temperatures but the competitors were rewarded with a large group of spectators basking in the sun.
The dual discipline event required a one mile swim from the Aquarium past the Jetty to The Mole, and at the Mole the participants put on running shoes (sneakers) to run the one mile back to the Tiger Reef Beach Bar.
There was also a rookie event to accommodate the less fit consisting of a 600m swim in The Mole and the same one mile run to Tiger Reef Beach Bar. The winners of this event were Ilke Preschel and Neurath Botha.
Yvonne Brinkmann from OTB Sport, the event organizers, said: “We think this unique Namibian event and the setting of desert, beach and sea will capture people’s sense of adventure and we expect the event to grow in the years to come.  Events are made by the top athletes and the middle and back of the packers who add a social dimension.”
She said the event was an interesting race with top Namibian swimmers like Corinne Wahl and Jonay, Byron and Christine Briedenhann competing with top tri-athletes like Nico Sterk (South African tri-athlete) and Paddy Murphy.
Brinkmann said due to the success of the inaugural event and generous commitment from Harold Pupkewitz to sponsor the event annually, the Pupkewitz Jetty Mile is sure to become one of the key events on the Namibian sports calendar.