2 April 1904

Charles Hefferon would become famous in 1908 when he won the silver medal in the marathon at the Olympic Games in London , but he first wrote his name in the history books when he won the inaugural SA track title over 4 miles in Johannesburg on this day in 1904 . His time was 22:03.2 , and he was to win the title five more times . The distance remained at 4 miles until 1938 ; the next year it changed to 3 miles , and later became the 5000m . In 1909 , Hefferon also won the first national title over 10 miles . He never won the SA Marathon title , but he did win the mile title six years in a row ( 1904-09 ).

13 April 1936

Only two athletes ever won the 10 miles on the track and the marathon at the same SA Championships . The first was Jackie Gibson in 1935 and the second was Johannes ( Johnny ) Coleman the following year . That 1936 meet saw Coleman win the 10 miles in 53:53.8 , with Gibson second and Wally Hayward third .

Johannes ( Johnny ) Coleman

Charles Hefferon

The marathon had been run two days earlier , and produced a memorable finish . Coleman usually ran without his dentures , but wanted them in when he finished , so he stopped at the small gate of the Westbourne Oval in Port Elizabeth to collect the dentures from his sister . This allowed Gibson to pass him and enter the stadium first , but Coleman calmly assured his sister that it was no problem . He charged after Gibson , caught him and finished in 2:31:57.4 , more than six minutes faster than his own SA Record .

7 April 1958

On this day in Pretoria , Jan Barnard scored a third ‘ double ’ at the SA Championships by winning the 6 miles , having already won the marathon . ( In 1968 , the 6 miles became the 10,000m event .) Barnard won the 6 miles in 30:33.2 from Marthinus Wiid , two days after taking the marathon title in

2:28:04 , in what was then the fastest time ever at the SA Championships , and also with Wiid finishing second . Four months after his SA Champs double , he earned the silver medal in the Commonwealth Games Marathon in Cardiff . Barnard remains the only man to have won the longest track race and the marathon at the same SA Championships three times .

Ferdie le Grange

Jan Barnard

23 April 1974

In 1971 , Ferdie le Grange became the first South African to run under 2:20 for the marathon , and in 1973 he set the SA Record at 2:13:58 , but 1974 saw his greatest day . At the SA Open Marathon in Port Elizabeth , he went through 25km in 77:40 , on 2:11 pace , and while he then slowed somewhat , he held his form to cross the line in 2:12:47 , an African

Record . He then retired from competitive running . His SA Record stood for more than five 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 .

15 April 1995

In the 1995 edition of the 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 . 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 .

Simon Malindi

Siphiwe Gqele

Images : Guntis Berzins for World Athletics & courtesy Olympedia , Century of the Marathon , Dewald Steyn , RunnerSpace , Two Oceans Marathon , Hamilton Public Library / Wikimedia

10 ISSUE 167 | www . modernathlete . co . za