Pictures can say a thousand words, that is for sure. And this header image is no different, which I saw on a friend's timeline a while back. While I've been meaning to write this for a while, a phone conversation recently prompted me to finally put out some words.
It has been almost thirty years since this photo was taken. It shows an exhausted Dr Tim Stewart crossing the line first at the inaugural Longmile Double Standard Triathlon at Woodbridge Island, Cape Town in late 1989. While there were several long and ultra distance triathlons in other provinces of South Africa at the time, it had been a while since the Western Province hosted an event longer than the standard or “Olympic” distance events. Tim, along with a host of other South African speedsters, specialised in this shorter distance, regularly posting performances that were comparable to their overseas professional counterparts. But because South Africa was still under the international sporting boycott of the time, only a handful of local athletes had tested themselves against the best in the West. Simon Lessing had already left the country to pursue pro career in Europe, using his dual-British citizenship to be eligible to compete overseas, as had the likes of Mandy Dean (for the then-West Germany) and a few others.
Back to the race and Tim was victorious over this longer distance, scooping the first prize of around R1,000-00, which was a pretty tidy sum as far as prize money was concerned at the time. Andreas Lombardozzi was second and the two would lock horns again a few months later at SA Champs, where the tables were turned, then reversed when Andreas was disqualified for undoing his helmet strap before dismounting his bike.
Tim, along with Andreas, would follow the international route a year later, with Tim testing the British waters for a few months before returning home to Cape Town for a short break from the sport. Another local season of racing would follow that hiatus of gardening and home renovation before he would head to the UK for good in 1992. It was tough for Tim when he returned overseas for the second time. He had invested a lot of time training for his upcoming trip and results were average (by his high standards) that first full year in the UK. To make matters worse, he had already been made aware of the increasing standard of racing in the UK by pouring over 1991 results in some contraband “Triathlete” magazines before he had even left South Africa.
But things turned for the better the following year. Consistent performances on the elite circuit and a second place behind Spencer Smith at the national championships made people sit up and take notice. It was always “interesting” that the British Team for that year's European Championships consisted of two South African imports, namely Tim and Simon Lessing, the defending World Champion that year. Electing to race the 1993 Manchester World Champioships as an age-grouper, Tim was placed first overall in the amateur category, sharing these honours with friend, fellow Capetonian and former training partner Renee Scott.
But here's the thing – one would have expected Tim to have had a complete makeover after his overseas success of that year. New bike and flashy equipment for sure. Not so, because when he returned to Cape Town for a holiday that December, he still had the same bike (complete with scratches and the same saddlebag), same training clothes (UCT T-shirt and faded cycling shorts) and the same accent (no European-ised pronunciations) as he did when he left two years previously. Out on a sizzling Wednesday afternoon training ride with friends during that holiday, he even stopped to chat to a newspaper salesman on the M5 Kenilworth off-ramp whom he bought his daily “Argus” from after work at the Cape Flats day hospitals. Yes, nothing had changed then, nor had it three weeks ago when I spoke to him on the phone. I was in the Guilford area and was hoping to meet up but ran out of time. Life is good but work is a little grim, said Dr Stewart. I barely get time to ride my bike or run but have enjoyed a few Januaries cycling with friends in Majorca, he continued. He did the Camino last year by bike and in true Stewart fashion – a six-week work sabbatical and on a Specialized AWOL for £250 off eBay.
