SPORT MAN
SAYS sport man says by MANFRED SEIDLER
Too Much of a Good Thing ?
Looking at the last quarter of 2020 and the early part of 2021 , it is incredible to see how many stellar performances there have been around the world in middle and long distance running , be it on the track or on the road . And it begs the question whether the break from competition forced by the COVID-19 pandemic has actually been good for the sport .
In September , RunCzech was able to host a Half Marathon under very stringent COVID-19 safety measures in the Czech Republic . Invited athletes were placed in a quarantine ‘ bubble ’ and then ran laps through Letna Park in Prague . Only 35 athletes were invited for both the men ’ s and women ’ s races , and the races were held separately , one after the other . The top 10 men broke 62 minutes , the top six broke 61 minutes , and the top two dipped under 60 minutes . The top five women all broke 68 minutes .
Fast-forward to October and the London Marathon was also held as an elite-only race . Again , a venue was found that precluded any spectators , and the athletes ran laps , this time around the famous Mall and the spur running adjacent to Buckingham Palace . Unfortunately , the cold weather and rain slowed what was expected to be a fast race – there had been pre-race talk of world records being chased in both the men ’ s women ’ s races – but the top ten men nevertheless went sub-2:10 , with only four seconds separating the top three . Meanwhile , the top women all went sub-2:30 . In conditions that had the athletes literally shivering from the cold as they crossed the finish line , those were sterling times .
October also saw the World Half Marathon Championships take place in Gdynia , Poland . Out of the 117 men who finished the race , 69 recorded new personal bests and 13 set National Records , including Stephen Mokoka clocking 59:36 for a new SA Record . The top 10 men all broke 60 minutes . In the women ’ s race , of the 101 finishers , 66 ran PBs , including nine National Records , two Continental / Area Records , and one World Record ( Kenyan winner
Peres Jepchirchir ran the fastest ever time for a women-only race , 65:17 ). The first 11 women all broke 68 Minutes .
The Valencia Marathon in December saw 30 men break 2:10 , and five women dip under 2:20 , while the accompanying half marathon saw nine men go under 60minutes , and three women under 66 minutes . This trend for fast times continued into 2021 , most recently at the Istanbul Half Marathon , with the top five men going sub-60 and the top four women breaking 66 minutes , with yet another World Record in the women ’ s race , as Ruth Chepngetich clocked 64:02 to take almost 30 seconds off the previous mark .
Speedier in SA , Too
All told , a plethora of World Records have been broken in recent months , including not only the men ’ s and women ’ s Half Marathon records , but also the men ’ s 5000m and 10,000m as well as the women ’ s 5000m , and most recently the women ’ s 5km World Record . Meanwhile , the trend for fast times has also been seen in South Africa , albeit on the track .
Mbuleli Mathanga has lowered his 10,000m PB twice , first from 28:55.83 to 28:24.93 on 5 March , then three weeks later to 28:03.45 . Precious Mashele joined the sub 28-minute club with his 27:55.87 , and two days later shaved 11 seconds off his 5000m best , having already taken 20 seconds off his PB just 12 days before his sub-28 clocking in the 10,000m . These two have led a whole host of fellow South Africans to PBs , and all of sudden there is real rivalry again in the middle distances of South African men ’ s athletics .
Images : David Papenfus / Endurocad , Tobias Ginsberg & Citizen59 / Wikimedia
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46 ISSUE 140 APRIL 2021 / www . modernathlete . co . za