STATS & FACTS
by RIËL HAUMAN
Stats & Facts
Memories of March
The world of running produces scintillating times and interesting statistics , including these standout performances in March from the annals of SA running .
26 March 1932
The SA Marathon has often been held in March , but the first time this happened was in Durban in 1932 , when William ( Bill ) Cochrane won easily in 3:03:38 from J . W . W . Savage and Bill Savage . The race was also the trials for the 1932 Olympic Games , but South Africa did not send any marathoners to Los Angeles . Bill Savage would go on to win the Comrades Marathon a few weeks later , with Cochrane third . Three years later , in 1935 , Cochrane would himself win the Comrades , and he would repeat this victory in 1946 ( as Savage did in 1948 ). Cochrane also won the Durban Athletic Club Marathon in 1930 and 1931 .
Bill Cochrane
time in the world that year ( only 7 seconds behind the world leader ). This SA Record , run at more than 1300m of altitude , would stand for 17 years , until Jan Barnard broke it at sea level . Tragically , Gibson was killed in an airplane crash near Durban in 1944 while serving in the South African Air Force .
Johannes Coleman ( left ) and Jackie Gibson
10 March 1965
Sonny van Antwerp
On this day in Germiston , Cornelius “ Sonny ” van Antwerp ran one of the best races of his career when , despite the altitude , he became the first South African to dip below 50 minutes for 10 miles and cover more than 12 miles in an hour . Also , his time of 49:55.6 for
27 March 1937
Only four men ’ s marathon SA Records have been set in March . The earliest one , on this day in the SA Championships in Bloemfontein , was the result of a phenomenal run by Jackie Gibson , just four days before his 23rd birthday . It was the third meeting between Gibson and SA Record-holder and defending champion Johannes Coleman , who had won both of their previous clashes , and in fact had never lost to a fellow South African . The race was decided on a five-lap course , and after another tough battle , Gibson reached the finish in the Ramblers Stadium in 2:30:45 for a new continental record and the second-fastest
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South African Road List Leaders for 2023
This section lists the best South African official performances this year in each of the most popular official road distances . MEN
10km 28:42 Anthony Timoteus Cape Town , 4 March
15km 46:30 Anthony Timoteus Cape Town , 14 January
21.1km
1:05:36 ( 1:03:34a
( As at 6 March 2023 )
Reghen Magwai Ian Slinger
Pretoria , 4 February Ladysmith , 11 February )
42.2km 2:06:42 Stephen Mokoka Osaka , 25 February
50km 2:39:04 Tete Dijana Gqeberha , 26 February
WOMEN
10km 33:44 Gerda Steyn Dubai , 12 February
15km 53:35 Annie Bothma Cape Town , 4 February
21.1km 1:10:07 Dominique Scott-Efurd Houston , 15 January
42.2km 2:39:47 Ann Ashworth Seville , 19 February
50km 3:12:51 Stella Marais Gqeberha , 26 February
KEY a – Aided course , e . g . point-to-point , and therefore not record-legal
Images : Courtesy Comrades Marathon , Maties Athletics , Dewald Steyn , Two Oceans Marathon & Dirk Franke / Wikimedia