Edward Mothibi and Annie Bothma were crowned the official winners of the Sanlam Cape Town Virtual Marathon on 18 October . Their overall titles were announced after altitude adjustments were made to level the playing field among the Elite Invitational squad ’ s respective results from Cape Town , Potchefstroom and Pretoria . The Sanlam Cape Town Virtual Marathon Elite Invitational ’ s tri-city showdown was broadcast live on SABC2 .
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Mothibi & Bothma win Sanlam Cape Town Virtual Marathon
ALL THE WINNERS
Cape Town Men
1 . Bongmusa Mthembu ( Arthur Ford ) 2:17:32 2 . Nkosikhona Mhlakwana ( Maxed Elite ) 2:21:41 3 . Msawenkosi Mthalane ( Entsika ) 2:22:02
Cape Town Women
1 . Annie Bothma ( ATC Multisport ) 2:33:36 ( New PB ) 2 . Nontokozo Mkhize ( Arthur Ford ) 2:46:43 3 . Tanith Maxwell ( Boxer ) 2:55:29
Participants can find their results at www . capetownmarathon . com / virtual-results .
Running in near-perfect conditions in the Mother
City , Bongmusa Mthembu ( Arthur Ford ) took a comfortable win in Cape Town , finishing in a time of 2:17:31 . Annie Bothma ( ATC Multisport ) took an early lead in the women ’ s division , which saw her run most of the marathon course alone to finish her secondever marathon in 2:33:35 , more than 8 minutes faster than her 2019 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon time .
Edward Mothibi Annie Bothma
Meanwhile , the elite fields in Pretoria and Potchefstroom battled brutal heat conditions . Despite these challenges , Phillimon Mathiba ( Nedbank ) finished the Pretoria course in a time of 2:18:28 , while Charne Bosman ( Murray & Roberts ) came in at 2:56:18 . Edward Mothibi ( Nedbank ) won the Potchefstroom leg in a time of 2:16:47 , while Ann Ashworth ( Massmart ) took the city ’ s top spot in 2:46:13 .
“ We were so humbled by the absolute excitement of the elite field , and their eagerness to experience a race format that none of them have been a part of before ,” says Sanlam Cape Town Marathon Race Director , Renee Jordaan . “ SA ’ s top runners were hungry for a race after being grounded for most of the year , and it was evident in the enthusiasm with which they embraced this unique format .”
Global Appeal of Virtual Run
The Sanlam Cape Town Virtual Run kicked off at 6am ( SA time ) on Sunday morning with thousands of runners from all corners of the globe “ running Cape Town ” along their favourite routes . Powered by a virtual app and run in local time , runners from Australia , New Zealand and East Asia had the first taste of this unique race format , and the event only drew to a close once the final runner in America had crossed the virtual finish line .
Pretoria Top Men
1 . Phillimon Mathiba ( Nedbank ) 2:18:29 2 . Philani Buthelezi ( Murray & Roberts ) 2:21:10 3 . Kabelo Melamu ( Murray & Roberts ) 2:26:32
Pretoria Top Women
1 . Charne Bosman ( Murray & Roberts ) 2:56:19 2 . Yolande Maclean ( Murray & Roberts ) 2:57:31 3 . Chrizell Roberts ( Nedbank ) 3:21:59
Potchefstroom Top Men
1 . Edward Mothibi ( Nedbank ) 2:16:48 2 . Jeremia Moshwetsi ( Impala ) 2:21:15 3 . Peter Muthubi ( Nedbank ) 2:25:23
Potchefstroom Top Women
1 . Ann Ashworth ( Massmart ) 2:46:14 2 . Lebo Phalula ( Boxer ) 2:57:16 3 . Melinda Jansen van Vuuren ( Massmart ) 3:03:37
Altitude Adjusted Overall Results Men
1 . Edward Mothibi ( Nedbank ) 2:13:11 2 . Phillimon Mathiba ( Nedbank ) 2:14:49 3 . Philani Buthelezi ( Murray & Roberts ) 2:17:26
Women
1 . Annie Bothma ( ATC Multisport ) 2:33:35 2 . Ann Ashworth ( Massmart ) 2:41:51 3 . Nontokozo Mkhize ( Arthur Ford ) 2:46:42
“ Feedback from our runners has been positive ,” says Barry van Blerk , Sanlam Cape Town Marathon General Manager . “ I am proud that we presented a virtual run format that has never been seen in any major international marathon event before . 2020 challenged us to be innovative and think out of the box , and judging by runners ’ comments , they had a great experience .”
Elana Meyer Receives International Peace Award
Images : Arran Graham & David Tarpey |
The Sanlam Cape Town Virtual Marathon race weekend proceedings kicked off with a short peace walk along the Sea Point Promenade with the iconic Peace Torch , which has visited 155 countries and run more than 632,000km since 1987 . The Peace torch global relay embodies humanity ’ s universal aspiration for peace , and promotes international friendship and understanding .
The event ’ s brand ambassador and former Olympian , Elana Meyer , also received the coveted Torch Bearer award from the Sri Chinmoy Oneness-Home Peace Run team . In handing the award to Meyer , Peace Run
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Coordinator Balarka Robinson said , “ Elana personifies everything the Sri Chinmoy Oneness- Home Peace Run stands for . She continues to encourage athletes and inspire the running community , and her spirit of oneness makes the world a better place through sport .”
Accepting the award , Meyer said , “ I cannot express how humbled , blessed and honoured I feel to receive this award . I have been touched by the spirit and symbolism of what the Peace torch brings . There is a flame inside all of us , and the moment the Peace torch gets handed over to the next person … that ’ s when the magic happens !”
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