Each time Tissink passed you heard a Mexican wave type response from the crowd who consider him 'their boy'. It's easy to believe that the crowd inspired him to dig deeper - in the end he did a blistering marathan, 2:52.
Last year Tissink was forced to pull out of the race in the last leg after struggling to breathe and he was later diagnosed with asthma. Test results showed he used less than half the lung capacity of an average person.
Tissink said he was ecstatic as he had claimed his seventh Ironman title, one of them in Port Elizabeth in 2005.
“I feel really fantastic and this is a long time coming. I have had a series of second places so this really feels great,” he said.
Tissink said it was the thousands of supporters egging him on all during the day who assisted him in winning the men’s event.
“It gets pretty lonely near the university but every time I hit the crowd and the supporters I got this surge of adrenaline and energy and this helped me get to the end.”
The Port Elizabeth athlete performed well by edging up on the leading men slowly from seventh place and then gaining his momentum and taking the lead during the marathon section of the race.
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clipped from www.theherald.co.za
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