Murray, Fischer Win Capetown ITU Sprint Cup

South Africa’s Richard Murray and Carlyn Fischer got their respective seasons off to an excellent start at home, when they won the men’s and women’s titles at the 2012 Cape Town ITU Sprint Triathlon African Cup on Sunday.

With a water temperature of 14 degrees Celsius, both races started with a wetsuit swim. The men’s 750m lap did little to separate the pack, over 20 athletes hit T1 together to start a technical 20km bike course.

Denmark’s Jens Toft managed to breakaway and entered T2 with a 40-second lead, but he was soon chased down by the rest of the pack that was being led by Murray and Great Britain’s Tim Don. It didn’t take long for Murray to push to the front though and he stayed there to claim the win.

It was Murray’s first ITU race in 2012, and it comes off an impressive 2011 for the two-time junior men’s ITU world duathlon champion. The 23-year-old claimed his first World Cup medal with silver Huatulco, and won his first African championships. The win in Cape Town means that Murray now also holds the South African 2012 sprint national title.

Read more: Triathlon.org