"So Hard": SA Champion Conquers 600 Monkey Bars at Bloukrans Bridge in World-First Challenge

• South African obstacle course racing world champion Thomas van Tonder took on a world-first challenge at Bloukrans Bridge in October 2026
• Van Tonder had to conquer 600 monkey bars suspended 216m above the river, climbing a 45° incline across Africa's highest bridge
• Red Bull's Bridge Bars challenge pushed van Tonder to his physical and mental limits, with doubt following him nearly to the very end

South African obstacle course racing world champion Thomas van Tonder crossed the Bloukrans Bridge in the Western Cape on 26 October 2026, using 600 monkey bars rigged beneath its arch in a world-first challenge backed by Red Bull.

The course stretched approximately 280 metres, peaking at 216 metres above the river below. Van Tonder climbed a 45° incline, traversed the crown, and descended the other side, finishing in 47 minutes and 37 seconds.

A dream two years in the making

Van Tonder said the challenge had been on his mind for two years. The first time he stood beneath the arch, the sheer scale of it caught him off guard. He admitted to arriving with too much confidence, and said the bridge quickly reminded him of his limits.

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Training had been brutal. He built a rig on the side of a mountain, dealt with tendonitis and shredded skin, and spent six months preparing for a course nothing could fully replicate.

The first section, a 45° incline, forced him to climb backwards, reaching overhead while his body climbed upward. By five minutes in, his hands were already struggling. At the crown, finding any rhythm became its own battle. He said:

"Just keeping them closed was so hard."

Fighting doubt to the final bar

Through the middle stretch, Red Bull reported that van Tonder broke the course into small mental targets to keep going. At points, with his head throbbing from hanging inverted, he had to pull himself upright, unsure whether his hands had enough left in them to get him back up.

On the descent, gravity pulled while he had to resist, controlling every bar to stop the speed from tearing his grip away. He said the doubt only began to lift with about 40 metres to go. Before that, finishing was never certain. He said:

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"From the middle segment to the end, I was unsure if I'd actually make it."

His hand protection told the story at the finish. The tape was ripped clean through, though he said his palms held up better than he had feared.

Van Tonder was quick to credit the team around him. Safety director Richard Lievaart and his crew rigged the entire course overnight without a single bolt or permanent fixing drilled into the bridge. Van Tonder said:

"Some people rigged through the night to make sure this bridge is ready for me this morning. And then they stayed up there to keep me safe."

View the Facebook post below:

TikTok reacts to the crossing

ABC News shared the story on TikTok at @abcnews, and viewers had plenty to say on the page:

@Annie wrote:

"Man climbing South Africa bridge is insane"

@Dekary said:

"Of course it's Red Bull"

@DOBabatunde added:

"I knew Red Bull was there before I saw their name"

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@C Y P R I A N said:

"This is why women live longer than men 😂"

@🇨🇦 Piper & Arlo 🇨🇦 joked:

"My arms get tired changing a high light bulb"

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• Professor Elhadi Adam of Wits joins BioSCape’s NASA Group Achievement Award-winning team, which used aircraft and field surveys to map Cape’s biodiversity.
• South Africans turn a petrol station stop into a viral party as friends cheer a red car’s full tank, reflecting the strain of fuel costs on household budgets.

Source: Briefly News