It was an incredible Non-Stop Dusi Marathon, as both K1 records were broken.
Sbonelo Khwela was the first K1 home, finishing in second place with a time of 7:48.08, while Laura O’Donoghue added a new women’s K1 Non-Stop record to her maiden Dusi title, finishing in a time of 9:24.
The overall victors were K2 team, Nhlanhla Cele and veteran, Thulani Mbanjwa, who fought a hard race to claim victory in a time of 7:44.44.
“It is so sweet to win a big race again!” said Mbanjwa, who finished fourth in this year’s Dusi. He added, “Nhlanhla was so strong the whole way, and I’m so happy for him too, he really deserves this result!”
The result was a career highlight for 27-year-old Cele, whose previously best performance was a Non-Stop third place with his brother, Richard, in 2011. However, his first Non-Stop win came in a dominant display as they led from start to finish.
After third place finisher, Lance Kime, ‘hit the wall’ halfway across Inanda Dam it was a two-horse race, with Khwela running the Burma Road portage like a man possessed, narrowing the gap in the final stages. In the end, however, Mbanjwa and Cele, were strong and held on to claim the victory.
“It was a great race though, and I’m very happy with how it went for me for my first time doing Non-Stop in a K1,” said Khwela.
O’Donoghue annihilated the previous women’s K1 record set by Robyn Kime in 2012 by well over ten minutes.
“It was a pretty flawless day out there,” said a tired but hugely satisfied O’Donoghue afterwards. “I felt strong throughout the day, and I enjoyed it out there, although from halfway I was on my own, which was quite eerie! I am just really happy to be home.”
Overall men’s results:
1. Thulani Mbanjwa/Nhlanhla Cele 7:44.44
2. Sbonelo Khwela 7:48.08
3. Lance Kime 8:04.51
4. Mhlonishwa Hlongwane/Banesti Nkhoesa 8:15.40
5. Richard Cele/Mfaniseni Nyawose 8:45.24
