MOSSEL BAY NEWS - Mossel Bay bodybuilding champion Hein Stander (56) and his training partner Tammy du Plessis (41) competed in their very first Hyrox competition, which took place in Cape Town from Friday to Sunday, 3 to 5 April.
The Virgin Active Hyrox Cape Town event was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre and was also South Africa's first extended Hyrox competition, with about 7 000 participants competing in the three-day fitness race.
According to hyrox.com, Hyrox is a fitness racing event held in expansive indoor venues and combines running and functional workouts.
The race format is the same across the world: a 1km run, followed by one functional workout station, repeated eight times.
Stander, who owns Hein's Gym in Dana Bay with his wife Alida, has won multiple bodybuilding and powerlifting competitions over the years. With only 3% vision due to macular dystrophy, a condition he was born with, Hein hadn't run in a while.
Hein is encouraged by his daughter, Annelise Stander, during the competition. Photo: Sportograf
It was just over a year ago, Tammy said, that she approached Hein, asking him to train her for the Hyrox competition. The two of them weren't entirely sure what Hyrox entailed, but, according to Alida, they did a bit of research and decided that this was a race format they would certainly enjoy and even excel in.
Tammy said in a lengthy post on her Facebook page that the two never missed a workout unless the gym was closed or they were out of town.
"Hein is the fittest and strongest person I know, but what I didn't know was that this wasn't about Hyrox. I had to learn about being blind, I had to lead a man running on the big Dana Bay hills. I had to trust God in me to do this," said Tammy.
Alida said Tammy "trained like crazy" for the event and had done exceptionally well.
She said Hein also received a specialised cane that even has GPS, and this has helped immensely with his running.
With Hein set to compete in the solo open category on Friday, and then the mixed doubles event with Tammy on Sunday, Alida had a big surprise up her sleeve.
Annelise Stander and her father Hein at the the finish of Hein's event. Photo: Sportograf
She had secretly organised for the couple's daughter, 25-year-old Annelise Stander, who lives in the Netherlands and had last seen her parents a year ago, to come to Cape Town for the weekend.
Alida said Annelise helped guide Hein during his solo event and after that, she participated in the women's race on Saturday.
"I am an extremely proud wife and mother," she said.
Hein came first in his age group under the visual impairment category with a time of 01:41:41.
Tammy du Plessis showing her mettle in the mixed doubles race. Photo: Sportograf
As of 8 April, Hein was ranked 28th in the world in the category of visual impairments on Hyrox's Adaptive Leaderboard 2026.
On Sunday, Hein and Tammy participated in the mixed doubles category, which meant that she had to lift men's weights as part of the routine. The pair managed a time of 02:05:10.
Tammy said her children, her husband Jean, and Alida were there for her every step of the way: "Jean and Alida deserve the medal here too."
She said that through this process, Hein changed her life, and she had made a friend for life too.
"If there is one thing Hein taught me this year, it is that you adapt".
According to Tammy, Hein is training her for her next Hyrox race, which will take place in Johannesburg in seven weeks' time.
Tammy du Plessis paired up with Hein Stander for the mixed doubles event. Photo: Sportograf
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