Marten Van Riel qualifies for Ironman World Championship
Belgian triathlete Marten Van Riel has secured a ticket to the Ironman World Championship by finishing second at Ironman South Africa.
The goal was clear: secure a spot in the top five at Ironman South Africa. The reigning world champion in the T100 discipline (and, lest we forget, Olympian) showed his prowess in the swim – the first part of a triathlon – coming out of the water in first position and starting the bicycle portion in third. Van Riel was outclassed by a Dane but no one could take that second spot away from him.
His second place in South Africa comes after a crash at Ironman Cozumel, in Mexico. He came back in formidable fashion and, while it’s still far away, he can start preparing for the world championships in Nice, France, in September. In any case, he couldn’t recuperate for long as the Singapore T100 triathlon was calling. There, the Belgian got a very respectable third place. With four podium places in his last four T100 races, you can see why Van Riel is the world champion in the discipline.
We applaud this sensational triathlete and will be supporting him with all of our Belgian heart as he attempts to secure the world title in Nice at the end of summer.