Brit athlete held at knife-point as machete-wielding robbers steal wedding ring

18 November 2023 , 17:11

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Tom Evans was mugged for his wedding ring

British cross country runner Tom Evans has opened up on the horrifying ordeal that saw him mugged at knife-point while training in South Africa.

The 31-year-old former army captain was ambushed by two robbers while running alone on Table Mountain in Cape Town. The former Welsh Guards captain was tackled by two men near the King's Blockhouse on Devil's Peak.

Despite being outnumbered, he fought back and managed to retrieve his stolen mobile phone. However, when one of the muggers pulled out a machete and a kitchen knife, Tom - who is sponsored by Red Bull and Adidas - said: "Once the knife was at my throat they made it very clear they would kill me if I carried on fighting so I stopped.

The muggers stole his iPhone 15 and Garmin watch, both worth about £2500, and rummaged through his backpack. When they noticed his wedding ring, they threatened to cut it off.

Tom, who recently celebrated his first wedding anniversary, said: "The knife was pushed in harder and I thought Sophie (Evans' wife and fellow athlete Sophie Coldwell) would rather have me back in one piece than the ring so I took it off and gave it to them which was so very hard to do.

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"They told me not to follow and ran off and I headed back down off the contour path and down towards Rhodes Memorial and the university to report what happened." Despite a thorough search by South African National Park Rangers and police, there was no sign of the pair who attacked Tom during his 40km mountain training run.

Brit athlete held at knife-point as machete-wielding robbers steal wedding ring

Tom Evans and Sophie Coldwell

Evans returned home following his ordeal

Tom, a star runner from Loughborough, Leicestershire, was set to compete in the RMB Ultra Trail Cape Town 100km race and was a favourite to win. However, after the terrifying ordeal, he feels too unsafe to continue his training and is flying home on British Airways.

"I've spoken it over with Sophie and it makes sense that if I can't get myself in the right frame of mind physically or mentally to fly home," he said. "I have travelled all over Africa and had great experiences but this is my first time in South Africa and in Cape Town and it is very sad that I have been forced to leave.

"But what happened was very traumatic with two men with a machete and kitchen knife threatening to kill me and that will sadly be my memory of my first visit over here. Will I come back? Who knows? I've always wanted to do the Cape Town ultra-trail as it is one of the toughest in the world and I hope in the future I will catch a plane back.

"But it is not fair on Sophie to go back up on that mountain to train each day and if I can't train then I can't do myself justice in the race so I have no option but to pack my bags. I only got here on Tuesday so it has been short but sadly not-so-sweet."

A fellow runner found traumatised Tom and guided him back down the mountain and reported the attack which is one of a string of muggings on trail runners and hikers. Tom was running alone on a rugged trail in preparation for the rugged 100km RMB Ultra Trail in Cape Town next Friday which takes athletes up and down numerous mountains.

On the day Tom was mugged, South Africa's Minister of Police Bheki Cele revealed the latest crime figures which showed 76 murders and 115 rapes a day took place a day in the last 3 months. Government officials, however, insist most crime takes place in the townships and poor areas and involve gang turf wars and drugs and that attacks on tourists are rare.

A park ranger from Table Mountain warned: "This trail runner unfortunately was attacked by opportunist muggers but he broke the golden rule to go on the mountain alone. "We cannot stress enough that runners and hikers should enjoy the mountain but in groups as if alone you are a target for muggers or helpless if you have a fall".

The crime situation worsened in August when the ANC Government ordered the early release of 15,000 men from overcrowded prisons to house more criminals. A sharp spike in knife and gun muggings in tourist areas has been reported since the mass release and Cape Town police are organising extra patrols for the summer.

Tom, a former soldier, married international triathlete Sophie, 28, in November last year and they celebrated their 1st wedding anniversary on the 12th of this month. This year Tom has won the 100 mile USA Western States Endurance Run and the 33 mile Ultra Trail in Snowdonia and was 2nd in the USA Black Canyon Ultra 60 mile race.

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He has run for Great Britain cross country and trail running team and is training for the next Olympics and had hoped to celebrate Xmas by winning the Cape Town ultra. Tom changed careers after taking part in the world's toughest race the 251km desert ultra Marathon des Sables and came third and left the British army to become an athlete.