Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 147, Dec 2021 December 2021 | Page 14

by RIËL HAUMAN
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

STATS & FACTS

by RIËL HAUMAN

Stats & Facts

SA ’ s Best Marathoners in 2021

The 2021 athletic year did not present South African athletes with many opportunities to race the marathon distance , due to the ongoing COVID pandemic and lockdown restrictions preventing road races from taking place much of the year , but the country ’ s top runners still managed some really fast times .
Stephen Mokoka
Gerda Steyn

In spite of lockdown restrictions and limited racing opportunities , this year we have seen the long-standing women ’ s SA Record for the marathon fall , with Gerda Steyn clocking 2:25:28 in Sienna , Italy in April . That finally pushed Colleen De Reuck ’ s 2:26:35 , run in Berlin in 1996 , down into second place on the all-time list of record-legal SA performances . Take note that Elana Meyer did go faster , clocking 2:25:15 in Boston in 1994 , but that course is point-to-point and thus not legal for record purposes . Gerda went on to run 2:26:25 in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in October , also under Colleen ’ s mark , so Gerda now has the two fastest legal times on the alltime
list , and her 2:26:51 run in London in 2020 gives her the fourth-fastest legal time as well !
Not surprisingly , most of the top SA men ’ s and women ’ s marathon times for 2021 were run in the two races held in Cape Town , the Retail Capital Langa Marathon Challenge in May and the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in October . All the top 10 men ’ s times came in these two races , whereas Elroy Gelant ’ s 2:16:43 in the Olympic Marathon in Japan is the 13th-fastest for the year . In contrast , there are three women ’ s times recorded overseas on this list , including Gerda ’ s SA record in Italy and her Olympic performance sits fourth on the list .
TOP 10 MEN ’ S TIMES
2:10:01
Stephen Mokoka
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:11:22
Elroy Gelant
Cape Town
30 May
2:11:28
Melikhaya Frans
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:11:49
Sboniso Sikhakhane
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:12:40
Tumelo Motlagale
Cape Town
30 May
2:13:03
Tumelo Motlagale ( 2 )
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:13:15
Philani Buthelezi
Cape Town
30 May
2:13:54
Edward Mothibi
Cape Town
17 Oct
THIS MONTH IN HISTORY
1 December 1956
The only time the Olympic Games have been held in December was in 1956 , when they took place in Melbourne , Australia . It was also the first time they were held in the southern hemisphere , and the first time Kenya and Ethiopia took part . On this day , the marathon pitted defending champion Emil Zatopek ( Czechoslovakia ) against Alain Mimoun ( France ).
2:14:06
Daniel Matshailwe
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:14:45
Reghen Magwai
Cape Town
17 Oct
TOP 10 WOMEN ’ S TIMES
2:25:28
Gerda Steyn
Siena , Italy
11 Apr
2:26:25
Gerda Steyn ( 2 )
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:28:40
Irvette van Zyl
Siena , Italy
11 Apr
2:32:10
Gerda Steyn ( 3 )
Sapporo , Japan
7 Aug
2:35:13
Irvette van Zyl ( 2 )
Gqeberha
4 Dec
2:41:21
Nontokozo Mkhize
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:41:53
Zinhle Shabalala
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:42:35
Zintle Xiniwe
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:42:38
Stella Marais
Cape Town
17 Oct
2:47:54
Adele Broodryk
Cape Town
17 Oct
Alain Mimoun
The Frenchman , who was born in Algeria and was running his first marathon , had been second to Zatopek in five major championships between 1948 and 1952 , and the general feeling was that it would be the same again . But Zatopek , winner of three gold medals at the previous Games , was not at his best following an illness , and after the first 10km he was never in contention . Mimoun took the gold medal rather easily in 2:25:00 , with Franjo Mihalic ( Yugoslavia ) second in 2:26:32 .
It is said that Mimoun received a written message the evening before the race that his wife had delivered their child , but the letter ‘ s ’ was added by mistake to the word enfant and Mimoun ran the marathon wondering how he would meet the financial demands of supporting twins ! Only after the race was he told that there was only one baby .
26 December 1958 | 11 December 1982
Two South African mile records have been set in December . The first occurred during the famed Boxing Day Meeting in Paarl , which produced many outstanding performances during the years when , under the leadership of “ Oom ” Martin du Toit , it was one of the best track and field meetings in the country . In 1958 , the mile was the highlight of the meet , with SA record holder Harold Clark in the field . Clark ’ s
Images : Roger Sedres / Image SA , Action Photo SA & courtesy Wikimedia
14 ISSUE 147 DECEMBER 2021 | www . modernathlete . co . za