South Africa strikes gold at Tug-of-War World Championships

South African athletes secured 15 medals, including nine gold, at the 30th Tug-of-War World Championships held in Hartenbos, Mossel Bay.

The championship week attracted national teams and clubs from 16 countries and marked the competition’s return to the Western Cape eight years after Cape Town hosted the Outdoor World Championships in 2018.

The programme opened on 16 September with the Tug-of-War International Federation (TWIF) Open Club Championships. Athletes subsequently represented their countries in the World Championships on 18 and 19 September, competing across junior, under-23 and senior weight categories.

South African clubs collected five gold and two silver medals during the open competition. Hartenbos won the Under-23 Men’s 600kg category, while Goudini triumphed in the Under-23 Women’s 500kg contest.

Drostdy A won the Junior Men’s 560kg category, Robertson High School secured gold in the Junior Mixed 520kg event and Valsbaai A topped the Under-23 Mixed 560kg division.

South Africa’s national teams added four gold, two silver and two bronze medals. The gold medals came in the Junior Men’s 560kg, Under-23 Men’s 600kg, Under-23 Mixed 560kg and Senior Men’s 600kg categories.

Kittie Terblanche further strengthened the country’s showing after being named the TWIF Female Outdoor Athlete of the Year following a public vote.

Western Cape Cultural Affairs and Sport Minister Ricardo Mackenzie congratulated the athletes, officials and organisers.

“What I saw this week was not just competition. I saw the professionalism of the athletes and officials, the commitment of the organisers, the pride of teams representing their countries and the warmth of the entire tug-of-war community,” Mackenzie said.

“To our South African clubs and national teams: baie geluk! To win 15 medals, including nine gold, against some of the world’s best on home soil is an outstanding achievement.”

The Western Cape Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport invested R1.5 million in the championships following two years of planning and partnership. The support forms part of the provincial government’s efforts to develop sporting pathways from schools to international competition.

Mackenzie said public interest in the sport had grown significantly during the championships, with his TikTok videos attracting more than 500 000 views.

“When you give a sport the platform it deserves, people respond. I certainly see an opportunity to promote tug-of-war more, share more of these incredible moments and introduce the sport to people who have never experienced it before,” he said.

South African Tug-of-War Federation President Luther Anton Botha said the athletes’ success demonstrated “remarkable dedication, determination and teamwork”. He also praised volunteers whose work contributed to the successful staging of the event.