Awards

MODERN ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

ATHLETE OF THE YEAR

Up to Marathon Distances – 25km to 42.2km

Dominique Scott-Efurd Gerda Steyn Irvette van Zyl

While Simon Sibeko had an impressive marathon breakthrough

Kebede in a sprint finish for line honours , 2:11:28 to 2:11:33 , which in 2023 , improving from 2:15:03 to 2:12:05 , Adam Lipschitz ran a denied Stephen a fourth win in four starts in this race . solid 2:13:01 debut in Valencia towards the end of the year , and ultra specialist Tete Dijana showed he could mix it with the big guns Stephen has always raced sparingly , but in 2023 he made those of marathon running in SA by finishing in the top 10 at the Sanlam races count , running his second-best 10km time of 27:59 , clocking Cape Town Marathon , there really could be only one winner in this 1:00:54 to finish third at the SA Half Marathon Champs , and then category . Stephen Lesego Mokoka is the Modern Athlete of the Year posting 1:00:29 in the half marathon at the World Road Running in the men ’ s marathon division .

Champs in Riga , which helped SA win the team bronze medal . But it is his marathon performance that gives him the win here . “ It is always Stephen has been South Africa ’ s premier marathon runner for over nice to be recognised ,” says Stephen . “ We work hard to perform and a decade now , during which time he has gone under 2:10 on 11 to put South Africa on the international map , so being recognised by occasions , under 2:09 eight times , and under 2:08 twice , including such a prestigious magazine is a big honour !” the fantastic 2:06:42 he clocked early in 2023 to finish fifth in Osaka , Japan . That meant he only narrowly missed taking the SA While it is no secret that Stephen will be targeting the Paris Olympics Record from Gert Thys , who clocked 2:06:33 in 1999 . Now that as his big race for 2024 , he will also be in action in some highprofile races in South Africa , including the Absa RUN YOUR CITY

Osaka performance alone would have given Stephen the win in this category , but he backed that up with his second place at the Sanlam Gqeberha , NMB Half Marathon and two Hollywoodbets 10K races to Cape Town Marathon in October , losing out to Ethiopian Adane be held later in the year .

This was another selection that was hard to make . Irvette van Zyl shortly ), but that one marathon speaks volumes . She was already showed she is as hard as nails by overcoming a stress fracture injury the SA Record-holder for the distance – she posted a time of 2:25:28 that saw her out of racing for the first six months of 2023 , going on in Italy in 2021 – and she went to Valencia at the end of the year to to finish the World Champs Marathon in Budapest in hot , steamy give the marathon another shot . She came back with a massive PB conditions , then going on to win her fourth Soweto Marathon title , and a huge improvement of that SA Record . Averaging 3:25min / km , missing her own course record by a mere 30 seconds and then went Gerda ’ s pace was two seconds per kay faster than her previous best . on a month later to run 2:27:29 in Valencia . But it was at that very same race in Spain that Gerda Steyn smashed her own SA Marathon Both Gerda and Irvette have qualified for the Olympic Marathon ( and record by a huge 1 minute 25 seconds , clocking 2:24:03 , which gave they have subsequently been joined by Coan Oldknow ), so we will her the nod as our winner in the women ’ s marathon category . hopefully see them in action in Paris in August , but before that we should once again be witness to a big showdown between these two Gerda may have only run the one marathon in 2023 , while once again superstars as they take on the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon in focusing on the Two Oceans and Comrades ultras ( more about that Cape Town in April .

Images : Action Photo SA , Felix Dlanga , Maja Hitij / adidas , Felix Dlanga , Erin Groll & courtesy Nedbank Running Club , Adam Lipschitz , Flickr , Comrades Marathon , Two Oceans Marathon

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