Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 121, August 2019 | Page 20

IN THE LEAD
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ith eight men over the line and just two
more men’s gold medals still up for grabs,
the TV cameras picked up two Entsika
AC runners, Gordon Lesetedi and Siya Mqambeli,
entering the Scottsville Race Course precinct. Both
looked tired and neither appeared to be racing flat-
out, but just behind them was a rapidly closing Maxed
Elite athlete, Nkosikhona Mhlakwana. It soon became
obvious that the newcomer was going to catch and
pass the other two, and this was high drama, because
one of the three was going to miss out narrowly on a
gold medal, with the finish line almost in sight! The irony of the story is that Siya had mistakenly
thought he was in ninth position before he was
passed, and only found out how close he had come to
losing his hard-earned gold medal when he reached
the finish line. “I only realised what had happened
when I looked back and saw that the Maxed Elite guy
had not been given a rose, which meant I had the last
one and was in 10th position. It was a big shock!” he
says. But while most people naturally felt sorry for the
man who just missed out on a gold, few realised the
dramatic story behind 10th-placed Siya’s run to a gold
medal, which fulfilled a goal he had set for himself in
2010.
Nkosikhona duly swept past the two Entsika runners
just before the notorious dipping tunnel under the race
course, with neither Entsika runner able to respond,
but as he climbed the steep tunnel exit, the Maxed
Elite runner’s legs seized up. Hanging on to the fence,
he was left stranded as the two Entsika runners
reclaimed their former positions and rounded the final
corner onto the home straight. With all of this being
shown on the big screen at the finish, the crowd was
going crazy, but all Nkosikhona could do was wait for
the spasm to pass, then limp over the line. Gordon
duly took ninth in 5:52:40, Siya was 10th in 5:52:51,
and Nkosikhona had to settle for 11th, and the first
Wally Hayward medal, in 5:53:22. (The ‘Wally’ is
awarded to men who finish outside the top 10, but still
within six hours – only seven were earned this year.) Running Talent
ISSUE 121 AUGUST 2019 / www.modernathlete.co.za
Originally hailing from the Eastern Cape, 37-year-old
Siya currently lives in Centurion, Gauteng, and works
in the Marketing Department at Entsika Consulting.
In previous years he worked at Discovery Health in
Johannesburg, and it is here, in 2010, that his running
journey began, on a treadmill. In the build-up to the
Comrades, the company set up treadmills for the staff
to participate in a fun running challenge as part of the
farewell festivities for staff members heading down to
KZN for the race. Teams of 10 runners each ran about
9km to simulate the race distance, and soccer-player
Siya suddenly realised that he had some running
talent, as he comfortably cranked out his relay leg at
the treadmill’s maximum speed.
The 2019 Comrades Marathon was one of the most exciting races in years,
dominated by the barnstorming wins by Edward Mothibi and Gerda Steyn.
However, there was another dramatic finish that caught the eye, as Siya
Mqambeli claimed the final men’s gold medal, and there is a remarkable story
behind his achievement. – BY SEAN FALCONER