Mxolisi Zondi and Taya Sterkenburg clinch the inaugural Red Bull Quicksand trophies at South Beach of Durban

The inaugural Red Bull Quicksand tournament took place under the scorching Durban sun at the golden mile of New Beach yesterday.  After thrashing the 1 mile course and the knockout rounds, Emkhambathini's Mxolisi Zondi won the men’s trophy and Taya Sterkenburg walked away as the women’s champion.   

The world-renowned beach obstacle course race landed in South Africa for the very first time this year and all Durban runners and fitness enthusiasts were given the opportunity to test their fitness levels in one of the most innovative and gruelling seaside races around the world. The obstacle course race saw over 500 runners take part to battle it out for the prize. 

Mxoli Zondi is thrilled to be the first Red Bull Quicksand winner from South Africa “I'm really grateful to Red Bull for hosting this tournament, it was really fulfilling, and I’d like to thank everyone back home in Emkhabathini for supporting me”, said Zondi. 

The new women’s champion Taya Sterkenburg is looking forward to coming back and defending her title “I’m super excited to be the first woman to win, I didn’t prepare for the run so I’m also quite shocked. The sandcastle hills were quite hard to go over but I’m really proud of myself for conquering them and winning” said Sterkenburg. 

The 500 participants enjoyed a fun day on the beach while Mapule “Queen Fitness” Ndhlovu motivated them on the mic, the personal trainer also joined in on the action and tackled the Red Bull Quicksand track along with obstacle course racer Thomas van Tonder. 

The man-made ‘sandcastle’ obstacles tested opponents with various knockout formats where runners progressed through heats and semi-finals to reach the grand finale, in what was one of the most energy-sapping days Durban has ever seen. The participants were tested on their endurance, agility, and speed as they proved how hard 1 mile can be.  

To find out more information on the 2022 event please click here.