Ntsindiso Mphakathi (second) and Gerda Steyn (third) were the first SA men and women across the line.
Foreign athletes won the men’s and women’s races on Saturday, with Joseph Seutloali of Lesotho and Margaret Jepchumba of Kenya securing victory at the annual Soweto Marathon held in wet conditions in the historical township.
Mosotho athlete Jobo Khatoane led for most of the men’s contest but he was reeled in with a few kilometres remaining by a pack of three athletes including Seutloali, former winner Ntsindiso Mphakathi and defending champion Onalenna Khonkhobe.
Seutloali, who was caught by Khonkhobe in the closing stages of last year’s race, ultimately broke clear to complete the 42km contest in 2:20:09, adding the Soweto crown to the Two Oceans ultra-marathon title he won earlier this year.
Mphakathi, who won in Soweto in 2023, grabbed the runner-up spot 15 seconds off the pace in 2:20:24, and Khonkhobe ended third in 2:20:39.
“It didn’t go well for me at this race in 2023 because there was an incident at the finish (when he collapsed) and then last year I was passed by Khonkhobe after 41km, so today was a better day. I was prepared for anything that might happen in the last stretch of the race,” Seutloali said.
Jepchumba dominates women’s race
In the women’s race, Jepchumba (who was second last year) shared the lead with Zambian athlete Elizabeth Mokoloma for most of the race before dropping her in the chase for the line to take the win in 2:34:33.
Mokoloma finished second in 2:35:59 and former national record holder Gerda Steyn was the first South African woman home, taking third place on her Soweto Marathon debut in 2:37:00.
“I was overwhelmed by the experience. It was a wonderful race,” said Steyn, who retained her titles at the Comrades and Two Oceans ultra-marathons earlier this year.
“I enjoyed the race from start to finish. It lived up to its name, and because I haven’t run here in the past, I have to be satisfied with my result today. It was a wonderful way for me to wrap up the year.”
No disruptions
While there had been concerns that the race would be disrupted due to an ongoing power battle for control of the event, provincial body Central Gauteng Athletics got a court interdict the day before the race to prevent disruptions and there were no incidents.
The controversy behind the scenes looked to have kept a lot of people away from the race, however, with organisers confirming they had sold less than 13,000 entries. The combined entry limit for the 42km, 21km and 10km distances had been set at 18,000.
