TOP 10 STATS
Fastest SA Women in Global Marathon Champs
This month ’ s stats compilation lists all 12 SA women ’ s times in the Olympic Games ( OG ) and World Championships ( WC ) marathons . While René Kalmer , Colleen de Reuck both appear on the list twice , Tanith Maxwell is the only athlete with three times on this list , and only two athletes – Frith van der Merwe and De Reuck – finished in the top 10 in a global marathon , with Gerda Steyn making the top 15 in Tokyo in 2021 .
No . TIME ATHLETE PLACE EVENT VENUE DATE
1 2:30:51 René Kalmer 35th OG London , UK 2012
2 2:32:10 Gerda Steyn 15th OG Sapporo , Japan 2021
3 2:35:56 Frith van der Merwe 7th WC Stuttgart , Germany 1993
4 2:36:48 Colleen de Reuck 31st OG Sydney , Australia 2000
5 2:38:16 René Kalmer 31st WC Daegu , South Korea 2011
6 2:39:03 Colleen de Reuck 9th OG Barcelona , Spain 1992
7 2:40:27 Tanith Maxwell 81st OG London , UK 2012
8 2:41:46 Lebo Phalula 63rd OG Rio de Janeiro , Brazil 2016
9 2:41:48 Tanith Maxwell 45th WC Berlin , Germany 2009
10 2:43:59 Annerien van Schalkwyk 37th WC Daegu , South Korea 2011
11 2:48:24 Christine Kalmer 96th OG Rio de Janeiro , Brazil 2016
12 2:56:37 Tanith Maxwell 42nd WC Moscow , Russia 2013
Gerda Steyn at the 2021 Olympics in Japan
Commonwealth Games Marathon in Cardiff . Seven athletes have won the longest track race and the marathon at the same SA Championships , but Barnard is the only one to achieve this three times .
Jan Barnard
23 April 1974
In the early 1970s , Maties medical student Ferdie le Grange established himself as the premier marathoner in Africa . In 1971 he became the first South African to run under 2:20 , and in 1973 he finished fourth in a superb international field in the Maxol Marathon , running 2:13:58 , but 1974 saw
Ferdie le Grange his greatest day . His aim was 2:12 + in the SA Open Marathon in Port Elizabeth , and his effort was boosted by perfect weather . He went through 25km in 77:40 , on 2:11 pace , and while he then slowed somewhat , he held his form in the gathering dusk and entered the dimly lit UPE Stadium still full of running . He crossed the line in 2:12:47 , an African Record , but then retired from competitive running . His SA Record stood for almost five and a half years .
6 April 1985
In the first 13 years of the Two Oceans Marathon , four men won the title twice – Don Hartley , Derek Preiss , Gabashane Rakabaele and Brian Chamberlain – but none could do so three times , until Siphiwe Gqele came along . He scored his first win in 1983 and on this day took his third title in a row in 3:11:57 , with 1982 champion Ben Choeu almost three minutes adrift and Rakabaele third . Gqele and Zimbabwean Marco Mambo are the only men who have won the race three times , but Gqele stands alone as the only one with three successive wins . Coincidentally , the women ’ s race in 1985 was also Beverley Malan ’ s third victory , after wins in 1982 and 1983 . Two women , Monica Drögemöller and Elena Nurgalieva , have won four times , but only the former achieved three wins in a row ( 1990-92 ).
Siphiwe Gqele ( right )
15 April 1995
In the 1995 edition of Cape Town ’ s Two Oceans Marathon , Simon Malindi achieved the rare feat of winning the race on his first attempt , beating Poland ’ s Jaroslaw Janicki ( also a novice ) by just more than a minute in 3:10:53 . It was then the sixth-fastest winning time and the tenth-quickest in the history of the race . Malindi was four and a half minutes behind the leaders after the halfway mark , but ran the fastest split on the day from the marathon mark , 48:53 . The women ’ s winner , Eniko Feher of Hungary , also completed her first Two Oceans , clocking 3:49:31 to become the then fourth-fastest woman in the race ’ s history .
Simon Malindi
About the Author
These stats and results are drawn from the weekly Distance Running Results mailer compiled by internationally acclaimed athletics statistician Riël Hauman , who has more than 50 years ’ experience as a journalist , author , publisher , commentator , pundit , administrator , event organiser , coach , team manager and runner in South African athletics , road running and cross country . He is also a former editor of the South African Athletics Annual , and author of two books , Hardloop en Lééf and Century of the Marathon 1896-1996 . To subscribe to his weekly newsletter , send him a mail at rielh @ mweb . co . za .
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