Former iron-man triathlete Nick Bester ‘beaten up by thugs’
Former elite athlete Nick Bester has been admitted to hospital after being attacked at the weekend in an alleged assault.
Photographs surfaced on social media yesterday, apparently taken before Bester was admitted to hospital.
“He was attacked and badly beaten up by thugs while out training this morning,” said a source close to Bester. He was apparently left with three broken ribs, a broken cheekbone and severe tissue damage.
Former elite athlete Nick Bester was attacked while training over the weekend in an alleged assault. Photo: Supplied
“He was attacked and he is apparently having surgery, but we don’t know any more than that at this stage,” said Adriaan Cronje, who worked as an administrator with Bester at the Nedbank Club.
Bester, a former ironman triathlete who won the Comrades Marathon in KwaZulu-Natal in 1991, was no stranger to injury or attack.
In 2010 he was assaulted by three men while training in Pretoria.
He was kicked, beaten and threatened with a knife, and he was left with a broken rib, with his attackers stealing his bicycle.
Former elite athlete Nick Bester was attacked while training over the weekend in an alleged assault. Photo: Supplied
In December 2016 he also landed up in the hospital and required surgery on a thumb after saving a friend from a potential shark attack in Plettenberg Bay.
One of the nation’s most versatile athletes during his competitive days, Bester is now the athlete manager at Nedbank Running Club.
He remains a prominent figure, particularly in road running circles, and is a regular-season at local races.