Obstacle Course Racing
Thomas van Tonder is taking obstacle course racing to new heights
From kickboxing black belt to OCR World Champion, Thomas van Tonder has built a career on pushing his limits. Now, he’s preparing for a new challenge that could test him like never before.
Growing up in Hartbeespoort, South Africa, OCR (obstacle course racing) World Champion Thomas van Tonder always felt drawn to big challenges and adventure, even before he knew where that would take him.
As a young man, he began to train in martial arts and eventually earned a black belt in kickboxing. At the same time, he was dabbling in other sports, including cycling. While training for a race, he came upon competitors at a local obstacle course race who were covered in mud.
They had just come from The Warrior Race, South Africa’s largest obstacle course racing series, with events ranging from 'rookie' level up to the longer, more difficult 'Black Ops'. Intrigued, he entered the rookie event at the end of the year.
“I felt like I could have done it twice when it was over, so I stepped up my game and entered Black Ops in the next race,” van Tonder says.
It was what he’d been waiting for. He had found his sport in OCR.
01
From a rookie to a world champion
Over the next several years, van Tonder would fine-tune his training and find his rhythm in both body and mind. By 2016, he had reached pro status and has since gone on to compete in six OCR World Championships, earning top-10 finishes at five of them.
In 2019, he became the 100 metre OCR World Champion and also finished second in the 3K event before returning to the podium with bronze in the 3K in 2024. At home, he has claimed more than 20 Warrior Race Black Ops elite victories and claimed South African national titles in 2016 and 2018.
Thomas van Tonder set a Guinness World Record for fastest 50m rope climb
© Tyrone Bradley/Red Bull Content Pool
In 2020, he set a Guinness World Record for the fastest 50m rope climb between Johannesburg's Soweto Towers, reaching the top in three minutes and 19.68 seconds.
Now, van Tonder is preparing for one of the biggest challenges of his career.
02
Tackling Red Bull Bridge Bars
In October 2026, the South African will attempt to cross more than 600 monkey bars suspended beneath the arch of the Bloukrans Bridge, Africa's highest bridge, which stands 216m above the river below. Van Tonder acknowledges that this will be the most difficult challenge that he has attempted in his life.
Rather than crossing a straight run of horizontal bars, he will follow the natural arch shape of the bridge. This means he will have to take on the uphill arch, cross its flat crown and then descend the far side. Each section will test his grip, endurance and body control.
A straight line across the top of the bridge was a possibility and would have led to a much easier crossing. But van Tonder chose the more difficult option. "One version was probably possible," he says. "The other will push me to my limits, and I don't know if I can do it."
The idea for the challenge first took root during his Guinness World Record rope climb and has stayed with him ever since.
Thomas van Tonder will attempt to cross Bloukrans Bridge via monkey bars
© Red Bull Content Pool
“The Bloukrans Bridge is a truly impressive place,” says van Tonder. “I’ve dreamt about doing a big project at this bridge for many, many years and when this idea came along, it ticked all the boxes. I immediately knew this was the location that I wanted to get this done.”
Van Tonder admits there are still plenty of unknowns. Besides the endurance factor, he feels that the rhythm of the crossing will be difficult.
“From the simulation stations that I’ve done to date, sometimes I’ll get into a rhythm, and I’ll do a nice segment but then the arms and the grip will pump out, and I’m forced to take a shake-out break,” he explains. “That naturally takes you completely out of the rhythm and you have to get back into it every time. And it gets harder and harder as it goes along.”
He admits this isn’t a feat he’s fully confident he can accomplish, which, to him, means it’s the right challenge.
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Why Thomas van Tonder enjoys embracing unique challenges
While many athletes enjoy the thrill of the challenge, van Tonder's inspiration is deeply rooted in family. “They are the backbone of everything,” he describes. “You cannot be a high-performance person in any space if you’re not stably grounded. For me, life is about setting the best possible example of what a dedicated person is to the little humans I’m raising.”
A husband and father of three, van Tonder also admits that he looks at his accomplishments differently since having children.
"The people who look up to you learn far more from what you do than from what you say," he says. "The best way to teach that is to take on something really difficult, figure it out, and train for it, because the process is where the value is."
Thomas van Tonder training hard in Cape Town
© Wayne Reiche/Red Bull Content Pool
While van Tonder remains highly motivated to take on these extraordinary challenges, the constant training and pushing the body to the limit requires a huge amount of mental strength. Fortunately for the South Africa, he has always believed in the matra of mind over matter.
“If you don’t believe you can win, when you get to that start line, you’re ready to settle for second best,” he says. “You’re only able to do those astonishing things if you’re able to suffer through the days you don’t want to do it. And only by doing that, can you get to the point that inspires other people."
That mindset also shapes the way van Tonder approaches competition. His mantra that “victory always goes to the one who wants it most and who has trained the most persistently” keeps him motivated day in, day out.
Van Tonder is hoping that this project inspires others to chase their own improbable goals, however outrageous they might seem. “It doesn't matter how weird your dream is,” he adds. “If it's big enough and you're passionate about it, go for it.”