TWO
OCEANS REPEAT FEATS
SPECIAL SECTION
Beverley Malan
The Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon has now been run 52 times since 1970 , and in that time the coveted title of Two Oceans Marathon champion has been claimed by 41 men and 29 women , but only a handful of them managed to win the race more than once , let alone twice , or even three or four times … and only one athlete has ever managed four in a row ! – BY SEAN FALCONER
Monica Drögemöller
When Gerda Steyn took line honours in this year ’ s Two Oceans Ultra Marathon , she made history for several reasons . Firstly , she shattered her own course record by 36 seconds , lowering the mark from 3:29:42 to 3:29:06 . Secondly , she won the race for the fourth time , equalling the record of Monica Drögemöller and Elena Nurgalieva for the most wins ever in the event history . No man or woman other than these three has won more than three Two Oceans titles . And finally , Steyn made it four wins in four consecutive races , and unprecedented feat that puts her out ahead of the other four-time winners .
There can now be little doubt that Gerda Steyn is the greatest female long distance road runner ever produced in South Africa . In 2019 she became the first woman to run the ‘ Up ’ Comrades between Durban
WOMEN ’ S REPEAT CHAMPIONS
The women ’ s race in the Two Oceans Marathon has seen 29 different winners in the 47 editions of the race since women were given official permission to run the race in 1975 . Of those winners , nine have managed to win the race more than once , of which three recorded an incredible four wins , three runners have a trio of titles , and a further three did the double . Other interesting statistics show that just three women have won three in a row for a hat-trick of titles , with Steyn now owning the record for the only four-in-a-row feat , but all of the multiple winners recorded back-to-back wins at least once .
The first repeat women ’ s winner was Belgian national Marie-Jeanne Duyvejonck , who claimed the title in 1976 and 1977 , while working in South Africa , and setting a new course record with her first win . Gail Ingram ’ s double in 1980 and 1981 included two course records , but her achievement was surpassed by Beverley Malan in the next four years . Malan not only broke the course record in both 1982 and 1983 , becoming the first woman to break the four-hour barrier and earn a silver medal , but she also claimed another win in 1985 to become the first three-time women ’ s winner of the Two Oceans Marathon , in the same year that Siphiwe Gqele became the first three-time men ’ s winner .
The next multiple winner was Monica Drögemöller , who broke the course
Frith van der Merwe ’ s world class run in 1989 shattered her record , but she returned to set a new record of her own , by winning three in a row from 1990 to 1992 and becoming the first four-time winner . Another hat-trick was achieved when Angelina Sephooa of Lesotho won the women ’ s race in 1997 , 1998 and 1999 , to become only the second woman to record three consecutive wins .
From 2002 till 2014 , all 13 women ’ s titles were won by international athletes , with Russians claiming all but two of these wins . In particular , the Nurgalieva twins dominated the race , with Elena Nurgalieva winning four times in 2004 , 2005 , 2009 and 2012 , and Olesya Nurgalieva claiming line honours three times in 2008 , 2010 and 2011 . That run of foreign wins was finally broken by South Africa ’ s Caroline Wöstmann , who won in 2015 and 2016 to add her name to the list of multiple winners .
The past four editions of the women ’ s race have been dominated by Steyn , who won in 2018 , 2019 , 2022 and 2023 – the race did not take place in 2020 or 2021 due to the COVID pandemic – and with the last two wins also bringing her new course records , she now stands head and shoulders above the rest of the repeat winners . And of course , the question now is whether she will return in 2024 to try for an unprecedented fifth win ? When asked this at the post-race press conference she said immediately , yes , absolutely , as this is one of her record 16 in 1988 ISSUE . She 158 could | www only watch . modernathlete as favourite . co . za races … so watch this space !
and Pietermaritzburg in under six hours , and in 2021 she set the current South African record for the standard marathon , clocking 2:25:28 in Italy . Then in 2022 she broke Frith van der Merwe ’ s 33-year-old race record in the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon with her 3:29:42 . Now , in this year ’ s Two Oceans , she equalled that record of four wins , and set a new record of four in a row , with a new course record as well .
Steyn ’ s incredible achievements in the Two Oceans see her joint top of an incredible list of multiple winners in the long history of this remarkable race , all of whom deserve recognition for their achievements in the last half century or so .
WOMEN ’ S MULTIPLE WINNERS 4 WINS
Monica Drögemöller 1988 3:44:29 * 1990 3:42:39 1991 3:50:23 1992 3:49:16
Elena Nurgalieva 2004 3:37:51 2005 3:38:14 2009 3:40:43 2012 3:41:56
Gerda Steyn 2018 3:39:31 2019 3:31:28 2022 3:29:42 * 2023 3:29:06 **
3 WINS
Beverley Malan 1982 3:59:08 * 1983 3:57:32 * 1985 4:01:09
Angelina Sephooa 1997 3:45:45 1998 3:49:56 1999 3:38:09 Olesya Nurgalieva 2008 3:34:53
Marie-Jeanne Duyvejonck
2010 3:41:53 2011 3:33:58
2 WINS 1976 5:01:07 *
1977 5:03:52 Gail Ingram 1980 4:14:05 *
1981 4:11:31 * Caroline Wöstmann 2015 3:41:24
* Course Record | ** Current Course Record
2016 3:44:44
Marie-Jeanne Duyvejonck