SA's Thomas van Tonder Won The Inaugural Red Bull Rancher Strong

Thomas van Tonder poses for a portrait at Red Bull Rancher Strong in Fort Worth, Texas, USA on June 7, 2025. Photo Credit: Karlo Ramos

It’s CrossFit, but ranch-style and for the first time ever, a winner has claimed the title and that just happens to be South Africa’s Thomas van Tonder

Fort Worth, Texas (11 June 2025) – Yeehaw! South Africans are just to darn good. Thomas van Tonder has been crowned the first-ever Red Bull Rancher Strong Champion. A title bestowed to the strongest rope wielding, hay-jumping, dust-kicking CrossFitter at the historic Cowtown Coliseum.

This ranch-style CrossFit/Hyrox/Ninja hybrid competition took place over the weekend in Fort Worth, Texas. Participants from all over the world joined to test their strength in events that tested their limits, all the while having fun in a totally new format.

From climbing over enormous hay bales, to dragging bull sleds around, 70 athletes tackled a never-before-seen seven-part obstacle course inspired by real-life ranching tasks all in an effort to be the fastest to hit the final buzzer.

South Africa’s very own beat out real-life ranch-born athletes to claim the title.

“The semifinals is almost the toughest race – as in, you’ve got to push so hard to make sure you get into that top spot. And then after that, you’ve got to perform the best you can to nail the final. It’s really a strategically tough race to do – being able to pull it off. Oh man, what a feeling! You know in South Africa, we are a very sportive country and we’re really proud about it. So being able to rep my country, repping my sport, I couldn’t be more proud.”

“It was not an easy race by any means. It was a super tough event and with the injury on my arm it was really tough, but I managed to push through and get the win. This event exceeded all my expectations, what a vibe!” – Thomas van Tonder

Thomas van Tonder competes at Red Bull Rancher Strong in Fort Worth, Texas, USA on June 7, 2025. Photo Credit: Christian Pondella

And in true Texas-style, winners were bestowed with unique belt buckles. It was like something out of Yellowstone, which is pretty epic! In addition to the new buckle, Thomas has earned a VIP trip to Red Bull Flugtag DFW this September, where he’ll be recognised as an inaugural Red Bull Rancher Strong champion.

We tip our hats to you, Thomas. Well done!