Cape Town Marathon boasts strong field in pursuit of elite status

Matshelane Mamabolo|Published 6 months ago

Runners work their way along the route of the 2021 Cape Town Marathon on October 17, 2021. | Shaun Roy BackpagePix

MATSHELANE MAMABOLO

THE Sanlam Cape Town Marathon’s quest to earn the prestigious Abbott World Marathon Majors (AWMM) status is set to be ramped up at this year’s edition of the gold-label race taking place in 40 days’ time.

Contesting that honour with Australia’s Sydney Marathon, the popular Mother City race has attracted arguably the strongest field yet assembled for any race on the continent and chances of stellar times being run abound.

SA women’s marathon champion and Olympian Cian Oldknow will participate in this year’s Cape Town Marathon. | BackpagePix

Defending champions Tsige Haileslase and Adane Kebede Gebre, both of Ethiopia, have confirmed their participation in a race that will boast a former world marathon record holder, two World Championships winners, 13 Abbott World Marathon Majors medallists as well as an Olympic marathon bronze medallist.

Add the massive prize money of $50 000 (about R895 000) to the equation and you have an incredible race in the making, what with the winners set to bank $25 000 each.

The organisers’ excitement is understandable.

“This year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is set to showcase the best marathon elite field ever assembled on African soil.

“With a prize pool to match, we expect an extraordinary level of competition, and – weather permitting – the course records will undoubtedly be challenged,” said race director Barry van Blerk.

There is also hope that the South African marathon record, particularly for the women, could also fall. National titleholder Cian Oldknow is enjoying arguably the best season of her career – the Hollywood Athletics Club starlet having run the second-fastest SA time with her 2:25:08 from the Seville Marathon in February.

She won the SA Marathon Championship two months later before going to be the best South African at the Paris Olympics, and just last weekend she won the national cross-country 10km title.

She is sure to be inspired by running against a stellar international field again and chances of her challenging Gerda Steyn’s national mark of 2:24:03 are pretty high.

Glenrose Xaba (left) is migrating to marathon running after dominating the 10km scene in SA. | Tobias Ginsberg

Adding spice to the women’s competition will be Boxer Athletics Club’s Glenrose Xaba, who is finally graduating to the marathon after many years as a 10km specialist and a star of the half marathon, even though she ran the distance occasionally.

Xaba is the current national half-marathon champion and is fresh from breaking Elana Meyer’s long-standing record over the 10km distance. She is on the verge of becoming the first South African to win the popular Spar Ladies GP title since 2018 when she reigned supreme.

In addition to the South Africans and the defending champions some of the global superstars that will be toeing the start line are 2019 world champion Lelisa Desisa (Ethiopia) who has also won both the New York and Boston Marathons as well as the All Africa Games.

Kneya’s Dennis Kipruto Kimetto, who was world marathon record holder with his 2:02:51 in 2014, having also won the Berlin and Chicago marathons, as well as Ethiopian Mare Dibaba, a former world champion and Olympic bronze medallist, will also be competing.

Lesotho’s Tebello Ramokongoana is fast building himself a name as a top-class international marathoner as evidenced by his seventh-place finish at the Paris Olympics and he will be out to shine once more.

The Cape Town Marathon is scheduled for October 20 and the organisers say it will boast the race’s biggest field with 21 000 runners confirmed.