POLOKWANE – An Elite team was recently chosen to represent South Africa in the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) 100km World Championships which will take place in Los Alcazares, Spain on 27 November.
The team consists of David Gatebe, Gift Kelehe, Bongmusa Mthembu, Ludwick and Rufus, of these five athletes, four are previous Comrades Marathon winners, making this team a force to be reckoned with.
The idea of creating this strong team, was thanks to local and well-known runner, Johan van der Merwe. “It all happened by chance and maybe a bit of good luck. I saw a documentary about Spain while on an airplane, on my way back from a race in China, in June this year”. I was fascinated by the beauty, history and rich culture of this majestic country and told myself that visiting Spain will become a priority on my bucket list”. It was announced shortly thereafter, in early July, that the 100 km world championships is scheduled to take place in Spain and this announcement caught his attention, not only because the host country would be Spain. “Because I have been in correspondence for the past three years with Athletics South Africa (ASA), in my ongoing quest to ensure that athletes can represent our country at future ultra-world championships” Johan explained.
He contacted Ludwick, Bongmusa and Rufus to hear if they would be available for the selection by ASA to participate in the 100 km Championships. “I didn’t have a mandate nor was I requested by anyone to ask these athletes this question but I knew that nothing would happen if I didn’t take the lead. Luckily all three agreed without hesitation and made themselves available for selection,” Johan said. He then contacted Johan Hamlet who coaches Gift and David, and confirmed with both of them that they would also be a part of what could be the strongest South African team in history, The team was confirmed and will be off to compete at the World Championships.
Johan explained that the race will be held on a flat 10 km circuit. (10 x 10 km laps). The combined finishing times of the first three fastest athletes of each country will be taken into account to determine which nations will finish on the podium. Friends, family and ultra-running fanatics across the globe will be able to follow this race through live video streaming and there will also be a web link available where the live results will be updated throughout the event.
