In St. Sundays open Spartan season with as many as 2250 competitors
Last weekend in Sveti Sunday was held the third edition of the world’s largest obstacle race, Spartan Trifecta Weekend. At the event, 2250 competitors from all over the world showed their physical fitness, endurance and mental strength, from Japan, Chile, the United States to the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Sweden and the Netherlands, and an enviable 40 percent of competitors came from Croatia.
St. Sunday Mayor Dario Zurovec, who himself participated in the race, at the opening of the race, pointed out that this is the biggest event they have organized so far. He is particularly pleased by the fact that this year they exceeded last year’s participants’ figures, setting up a new record with more than two thousand competitors from 20 different countries.
– This international sports event not only tests the boundaries of strength and endurance, but also strongly brands the Holy Sunday as a destination of adrenaline sports and top challenges – said Zurovec.
The Holy Sunday, at least a few days, became a true capital of active life, sports spirit and tourism, and the desire to win and Spartan’s mentality were the main driving forces. The youngest participant, a 4-year-old Spartan, competed in a 800-meter children’s race with 7 obstacles, and the oldest was 64 years old and successfully passed the 10 km race with 25 obstacles called Super in the competition category.
In addition to the aforementioned, the fearless participants were « fought » by the time elements in the Sprint race (5 km with 20 obstacles) and the night version of the same race, where the path of unstoppable competitors shone the moon and lights of the front lamps and the 21 KM Long Race with 30 obstacles (Beast).
On Saturday, on the first day of the competition, there was the most brutal race, Beast, 21 km long during which the competitors had to go through the hardest obstacles, of which the Spartans were most tormented by the wearing of concrete balls weighing 40 pounds for men and 20 pounds for women, shooting a target with a spear and wearing a sandbag weighing 22.5 pounds.
Considering that the event took place several months earlier than their previous editions, the weather favored the competitors, and the lower spring temperatures alleviated the harsh weight of Spartan’s most difficult races, although the biggest challenge was the obstacles that made the participants entering the water. Saturday was also a kind of family day on the Spartan Trifecta Weekend, because then the children’s race and Night Sprint took place.
First, the parents cheered their fearless young sports hopes in 800 meters races to 3 kilometers that brought together children from 4 to 14 years, and then they escorted their parents to a real night adventure 5 KM, which brought with them a brand new dimension of OCR competition, navigating on challenging, uneven terrain and successful crossing of as many as 20 different obstacles who also marked her end and the successful victory of each individual over that greatest enemy – herself.
– I have been competing for 10 years on Spartan, and this is my second time on Spartan Trifecta Weekend and I am glad that I managed to improve the result this year and raise myself from third to first place. The route is well designed, and Saint Sunday is a wonderful location and I really enjoyed competing here. I was lucky because the contestants behind me couldn’t hit the target with a spear, so I convincingly won. The weather was wonderful, and my favorite obstacle was to wear a trunk through the water – which further refreshed me at the moment when the sun began to fry, but my hands were still freezing and it brought me a bigger challenge in crossing the obstacles that followed – said the winner of the Beast race in the elite category, Jan Vladist from Slovakia.
On the last day of the event, on Sunday, competitors in Sprint and super categories came to the field. Their challenge, although smaller as distance and the number of obstacles in relation to the Beast race, hid not only in successfully overcoming obstacles and arriving at the destination, but also in the fight with weather and far cooler time compared to the previous day. Due to the weather conditions on the ground, part of the route is adapted so that participants do not enter the water because of their own safety. However, this did not prevent competitors from the eager adrenaline to boldly move into their races and step by step, the obstacle to the obstacle to the so much desired title of Spartanac. With every new competitor who successfully crossed the goal, the sun was increasingly coming out, and time was slowly repairing.
The culmination all day happened in the fight for the third place on the Super race stand in the Elite category between Milos Rajicevic from Serbia and Bendguz Kives from Hungary, who ran at the same second at the same second to the goal, and in accurate determination of the one, for the hundredth, faster, did not help Photo Finish. stopped at 3th place on the throne.
The unique energy of each competitor made up the unimaginable atmosphere in the festival part of the competition, and, already very well known to everyone, the Spartan exclamations echoed with Orešje and Sveti Sunday, almost as if we were on the set of film, not really, unresolved world.
In addition to the regular Spartan competitions, part of the Spartan Trifecta Weekend was also the Croatian Championship in OCR (obstacles), which took place on Sunday. It was brilliant at Renato Kuzek, Luka Horvat and Luka Flegar Male category, and the most successful in the women’s category were Kristina Šimatic, who defended her title, Sara Friday and Lucia Rupnik. Although it is only the 2nd edition of this Championship, the movement in popularizing OCR as a sport in Croatia is undeniable, and all the further efforts of the associations and individuals who continue to promote it will only accelerate its course.
– Feeling after this victory is really amazing! I am very happy and grateful because I was able to defend the title of national champion in OCR and win gold for the first time in the Age category for the Spartan race, on home ground. The race was fast and fun, and the organization and atmosphere were really great! This victory is an additional motivation for new challenges to me, with the aim of promoting OCR Sports among young people and presenting Croatia at international competitions – said the state champion in races with obstacles, Kristina Simatic.
For all of you who, because of the lack of free time or courage, you could not participate in the Spartan Trifect Weekend, there is another chance to try your best on the ultimate physical polygon this October in Hvar when the Spartan World Championship will take place there.
