Despite only competing as a biathlete for the first time this year, Andrea Ranger was crowned the women’s Biathle World Champion in the masters 40+ mixed relay and the masters 40+ individual women’s relay at the World Championships in Portugal last month.
Ranger was crowned the SA women’s champion earlier this year.
The mixed relay consisted of a 600m run, 100m swim and a second 600m run.
A 20 second headstart earned by Ranger and doubled by her partner, Tiaan Rossouw, put the two in good stead to finish the race as the winners in a time of 11:53.
The individual masters relay comprised a 1,200m run, 100m swim and 1,200 run.
With a strong start, but falling back to third place when racing on soft beach sand, Ranger was able to recover her lead.
Once the runners were back on a tar surface, she sped ahead to reclaim the lead and crossed the finish line in 11:08, with a 36 sec lead over the second place winner.
Though a flat course, Ranger said the soft beach sand had sapped her of her energy and affected her speed.
She said the tar sections of the course were a relief, as well as the swim which was thankfully in a protected bay.
“I had a look at past results and winning times, so I knew some of the names I would be up against on the day, and they had no idea who I was,” Ranger said.
“But on the other hand, I was also confident in the preparation and training I had done.
“So it all just came down to the day and who had the best race on the day.
“There are multiple world champions, and also novice competitors all lining up together to give it their best shot at the title and they are all equal on the start line,” she said.
Ranger intends to defend her title next year.
“It was such an honour to represent SA as there is something special about putting on that green and gold,” she said.
