The Boksburg Athletic Club’s Rita van Wyk claimed a third-place finish in the grandmaster’s category at the TotalSports Two Oceans Marathon on April 15 in Cape Town.
Van Wyk, and her Boksburg Athletic Club (BAC) teammates, joined thousands of runners at the start in Newlands for the 56km race, which runs against the backdrop of the spectacular scenery along the Cape Peninsula.
The sexagenarian took the steep incline along Chapman’s Peak to the top of the iconic Constantia Nek in her stride to complete the race in 05:25:23 for a bronze medal in her category.
Zimbabwean Givemore Mudzinganyama, who finished third in the Colgate Race in 2017, won the men’s race after cutting the ribbon in 03:09:42, while Gerda Steyn successfully defended her women’s title.
Steyn, who broke former Benoni Northerns Athletic Club and BAC runner Frith van der Merwe’s 1989 record last year, finished in 03:29:06, slicing off 36 seconds from her personal best to set a new course record.
The Free Stater also became the first athlete to win the race on four consecutive occasions after winning in 2018, 2019 and 2022 (the race wasn’t held in 2020 and 2021 due to Covid1-9).
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