Awards
MODERN ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Marathon Distances ( 33km to 49km ) | Women ’ s Nominees
Landie Greyling • Rebecca Kohne • Toni McCann • Samantha Reilly • Bianca Tarboton
( Honourable Mentions : Lijan Burger )
The women ’ s marathon-distance category proved very competitive in 2023 , with several outstanding performances by the country ’ s leading athletes at home and abroad . While Toni McCann kept her fireworks for exceptional ultra-distance races , she set her season rolling with a superb 4:49:23 victory at the 48km Transvulcania Marathon over Swedish athlete Emelia Brangefalt and Spain ’ s Julia Fort Gomez . An injury kept McCann out of the World Championships , and her woes continued when a biking accident while supporting her teammates in Austria , left her with a broken collarbone , but she healed rapidly and raced to a record-breaking victory by almost twenty minutes in the 43km Davos X-Trail race in Switzerland in late July – a warm-up to her exceptional UTMB OCC ultra race in August .
McCann ’ s adidas TERREX teammate , Bianca Tarboton , produced fireworks of her own in Europe , with an impressive 12th position in the competitive Mont Blanc Marathon in June , and second place behind a record-breaking American , Dani Moreno , in the Eiger Ultra Trail by UTMB in July . Tarboton ’ s
4:05:11 at that race was also inside British athlete Eleanor Davis ’ previous record . But Tarboton left her best for home soil , racing to a superb 4:36:55 record at the George MUT Marathon in May , having made a last-minute decision to race . Tarboton finished third overall , just five minutes behind joint winners Iain Peterkin and Jacques Buys , slashing a massive 33 minutes off Landie Greyling ’ s previous women ’ s record .
Tarboton also sped to a superb 4:52 win in the Otter African Trail Run , finishing 33 minutes clear of her Protea teammate , Lijan Burger . While seven minutes outside her own record time for the classic east to west Otter run , the excessively muddy conditions were likely worth 10 minutes . Tarboton ’ s last race of the year was equally impressive , producing an 18-minute win over Brit Holly Page in Ultra-trail Cape Town ’ s ‘ Table Mountain ’ 32km , finishing third overall in 4:04:57 .
Landie Greyling and Sam Reilly both raced well over marathon-distance trails in 2023 , deservedly bagging
nominations in this category . Greyling beat the heat and her rivals at Ultra-trail Drakensberg ’ s ‘ Sundowner 32 ’, winning this World Champs selection race by 20 minutes in 3:29 and booking her ticket to Austria , where her 37th position in the tough 45km ‘ Short Trail ’ World Championship was one of the standouts among the South African team .
Reilly has long raced in the shadow of her brother Kane , but she stepped up to join him on the winner ’ s podium at the Hout Bay Trail Challenge in July with an excellent 32-minute victory in 5:20:23 . She went one better than her brother at the 46km Cape Town Trail Marathon , with an impressive win in 5:09:11 , finishing 14 minutes clear of Brit Catherine Williamson .
Rebecca Kohne ’ s second place behind a redhot Tarboton at the George MUT Marathon , and a fast-finishing third place in UTCT ’ s ‘ Table Mountain ’ 32km saw her grab the final nomination ahead of Lijan Burger , whose second position at the Otter , 33 minutes behind Tarboton , was her only significant race in this sector .
Images : Stephen Granger , Johan Minnaar , Zac Zinn , Kirsten Oliver , Sam Clark , Peter Kirk Media & courtesy Rebecca Kohne , Trail Alsace Grandest by UTMB , UTCT ,
UTMB , The North Face
Toni McCann |
Bianca Tarboton |
Landie Greyling |
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Sam Reilly
Rebecca Kohne
Ultra Distances – Above 50km | Men ’ s Nominees
Daniel Claasen • Mvuyisi Gcogco • Christiaan Greyling • Matt Healy • Douglas Pickard • Ryan Sandes • Johardt van Heerden
( Honourable Mentions : Simon Tshabalala , Brandon Hulley )
Since trading his rugby boots for running shoes , Matt Healy has improved year on year and established himself as a leading ultra-distance athlete . He undoubtedly has the potential to take on the world ’ s best in ultra-distance competition , and two top-five finishes in ultra-distance races in Europe are the legacy of his best-ever year . In May , only 53 seconds separated Healy from French athlete Guillaume Berthier , winner at France ’ s Trail Alsace Grand Est by UTMB , with Healy clinching second place in 10:29:57 .
He returned to Europe later in the year to tackle the Julian Alps ultra-trail race in Slovenia , where he placed a competitive fifth in 11:41:10 , just 16 minutes behind race winner Alexsander Badowski of Poland .
Two quality performances in Europe also defined Daniel Claassen ’ s season . He placed an excellent 11th in a competitive Transvulcania 72km field , and he was one of the best South Africans at the World Championships , with a courageous 44th position in the gruelling 86km ultra-distance race .
Arguably Johardt van Heerden ’ s best performance in 2023 came at the George MUT 60km , where he smashed Kane Reilly ’ s record by more than 15 minutes in spite of muddy conditions , clocking 5:55:18 and finishing 20 minutes clear of American TERREX athlete , Jeshuran Small . Mvuyisi Gcogco was a long way back in third , but his best racing came elsewhere , and his win at the Whale of Trail in
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