Awards
MODERN ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
And the
T rail
Winners are …
In a year packed with trail action all over the world , 2023 delivered many great performances by South African athletes . This made it really challenging to choose winners in the trail divisions of the inaugural Modern Athlete of the Year Awards , but as they say , that ’ s a good problem to have ! – BY STEPHEN GRANGER with SEAN FALCONER & JAMES MONTGOMERY
With a step-up in South African trail running at home and abroad this past year , we witnessed stellar performances by our athletes in events as diverse as the World Mountain and Trail Championships in Austria and Ultra-trail Mont Blanc in France , to the Otter African Trail Run , Ultra-trail Drakensberg , Cape Town Trail Marathon and Ultra-trail Cape Town on home soil – and that really is just to mention a few . The competition for honours in the three trail divisions
of these awards was therefore encouragingly intense , and the depth of quality in performances ensured a diversity of athletes nominated in the various categories .
The nominees shortlisted for these awards were judged on a range of criteria , including national or international profile of races competed in , race times in comparison with historical best performances , and
the quality of the opposition . The full details of all nominees and their achievements can be read in the previous edition of the magazine by clicking here . In the end , each of the athletes celebrated here stood out from the pack , so here are the winners of the trail running division of the Modern Athlete of the Year honours for 2023 . ( Note that just to make things fair , we have arranged nominees ’ names alphabetically within each category .)
Short Distance & Mountain Running – Up to 32km
Men ’ s Nominees
Sipho Mbanjwa
Underson Ncube
Robert Rorich
And the winner is … SIPHO MBANJWA
Sipho Mbanjwa finished an impressive second at Ultra-trail
Siboniso Soldaka
Drakensberg ( UTD ) and booked his flight to the World Mountain and Trail Championships in Austria in June , where the 15.5km Mountain Classic awaited . Competition from the world ’ s best athletes from almost 70 nations was intense , and Sipho did well to finish 41st and first South African in 1:03:51 . “ I am humbled to be the winner of the short distance trail category award , and I would love to dedicate it to my late brother and teammate , Mbuleli Mathanga . And I would like to thank trail officials and the ASA Board for making a remarkable decision for the trail running community to officially affiliate with ASA ,” he says .
“ Running the UTD 21km for the first time was quite fun . I didn ’ t want to lead , as I knew I was gonna miss the markers ! For me to be runner-up in that race wasn ’ t a big hassle , because the goal was to be in the top three to qualify for World Champs . In Austria , I was expecting to be in the top 10 , but I ended in position 41 . The standard was so high . My weakness was that 3km downhill , where I held back and where most runners caught me . Being in the South African team for the first time in my running career was so exciting , and I would like to thank my coach , Mdu Khumalo , for allowing us to always try new things . Our team at World Champs was strong , and I believe
Simon Tshabalala
Johardt van Heerden
that in 2025 , the team will be even stronger and come back with medals ,” adds Sipho .
He says that one of his goals in 2024 is to improve his skills to become a better trail runner . “ It ’ s a whole different sport ... At time , you tell yourself it ’ s time to accelerate , and then you find yourself running at seven minutes per kilometre ! I ’ m used to running at two minutes 50 seconds per kilometre on the road ! I have sat down with my coach and discussed how to work on my weak points . Our plan in 2024 is to do well at the ASA Trail Champs in Karkloof in September , and RMB Ultra-trail Cape Town in November . Those races will help me to identify where we need to improve and build on for the World Champs in Spain 2025 .”
“ I ’ ve learnt that it ’ s all about understanding the situation , and after trail competition , you become a beast on the road , because you are used to being challenged and your muscles are able sustain any pain . For example , just a week after the World Champs , I managed to get top 10 at the SA 5km Road Champs in Johannesburg . Then in August , I placed in the top six at the KZN Cross Country Champs and won the 2km in 5:25 . And I ran 28:53 , just two seconds off my best , at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km in September . I ’ ve gained confidence from running trail ,” says Sipho .
Images : Stephen Granger , Shift Media , Farwaaz Cornelius & courtesy Rebecca Kohne , The North Face
22 ISSUE 166 | www . modernathlete . co . za