Fokoroni and Wöstmann win Two Oceans
Defending champ claims another Two Oceans Marathon title
Mike Fokoroni crossed the finish line 3:13:33 as he won Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon (OMTOM) this weekend (26 March).
Fokoroni raced to a comfortable finish, outpacing and ultimately beating fellow countryman and Nedbank athlete Collen Makaza (3:14:45) and 2015 defending champ Motlokoa Nkhabutlane (3:16:22) to the finish line.
“The weather was so great! The pace was slow in the beginning and I was just holding back until half way. I just hanged on to the stronger guys. At 45km I got confident and I saw the victory could be mine if I tried, and that’s when I started to push,” he said.
In the woman’s category, Caroline Wöstmann continued her marathon domination, successfully defending her OMTOM title.
Wöstmann maintained a comfortable distance from race leader Tanith Maxwell.
She took the lead in the final kilometres of the race, in a similar fashion to her win last year.
She crossed the finish line in a time of 03:44:44.
“It was a great training session with a strong end result,” Wöstmann said of her win.
Fokoroni’s OMTOM finish was the slowest in 22 years, while Wöstmann’s finish was also considerably slower than pervious Ultra wins.
In the Half Marathon men’s race, Namakoe Nkhasi sprinted to the finish in a time of 1:03:38, beating Olympic hopeful Elroy Gelant by two seconds and narrowly missing the course record.
David Manja finished in third place with a time of 1:03:45.
In the women’s race, Irvette van Zyl clinched the Half Marathon title in a time of 1:13:14.
Fellow Nedbank runner Onneile Dintwe from Botswana reached the finish line four minutes later, finishing in second place (1:17:15), while Namibian Alina Armas came third (1:18:05).
“This was a very special and important race for me. I came to win, but maintaining that pace on my own in the front was tough,” she said.
Want to receive news alerts via WhatsApp? Send us an SMS/ WhatsApp message with your name and cellphone number to 079 414 6709.
Familiarise yourself with our WhatsApp service disclaimer.
Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.
For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine
Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!
