Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 171 August 2024 | Page 9

At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics , Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia became the first African women to win an Olympic gold medal , with fellow African Elana Meyer of South Africa winning silver , in an iconic race for women ’ s distance running . ( Video courtesy danhar2688 .)

The magnificent World Record of 2:16.8 set by Germany ’ s Lina Radke in the very first Olympic 800 metres for women in Amsterdam was overshadowed by the controversy that followed . After the race , several women collapsed on the track from exhaustion , and some had to be given first aid . Criticism poured in , especially from anti-feminists , who charged that women were not strong enough to run 800m , and that 200m should be the maximum distance they be allowed to race . Some doctors were even quoted saying that such “ feats of endurance ” would make women “ old too soon .” The president of the IOC even favoured eliminating all women ’ s sports from the Olympics !

( As at 5 July 2024 )

This month we include a list of the top 10 South African women in the 10km for 2024 to date , with secondary performances by the top two also listed , hence the list has 20 times . This is because Glenrose Xaba and Cacisile Sosibo have six performances each on the list . As to be expected , Xaba dominates the top of the list , with her recent South African Record of 31:12 topping the list . Noteworthy is that ultra-marathon specialist Gerda Steyn is our seventh0fastest women this year for 10km , and that this list is rounded out by the veteran ( 40-49 ) athlete Lebo Phalula-Mzazi . ( And just not making the top 10 list , in 11th place with the 21st fastest time of 34:10A , is her twin Lebogang Phalula-Luthuli .)

2024 10KM TOP 10 WOMEN

1 31:12 Glenrose Xaba Durban , 7 July 2 31:56 Glenrose Xaba ( 2 ) Durban , 23 Jun 3 32:16 Glenrose Xaba ( 3 ) Cape Town , 24 Mar 4 32:30 Dominique Scott-Efurd Boston , 23 Jun

The ridiculous outcome was that the International Amateur Athletic Federation ( today ’ s World Athletics ) actually banned women ’ s races longer than 200m , and no women ’ s event longer than this was run at the Games for the next 32 years . Meanwhile , Radke ’ s World Record stood until 1944 . The silver medal in Amsterdam went to Kinuye Hitomi of Japan in 2:17.6 , and the bronze to Inga Gentzel ( Sweden ) in 2:17.8 . When the event was next held in 1960 , the gold medal was won in 2:04.3 , an indication – if any was needed – of what women were capable of .

Glenrose Xaba

South African Road List Leaders for 2024 ( As at 5 August 2024 ) This section lists the best South African performances for 2024 in each of the officially recognised road racing distances .

WOMEN

10km 31:12 Glenrose Xaba Durban , 7 July

15km 55:02 Cian Oldknow Germiston , 7 July

21.1km 1:09:26A Dominique Scott-Efurd Mesa , 10 Feb

30km 2:04:22 Caitlyn Mahoney Parow , 24 Mar

42.2km 2:25:08 Cian Oldknow Seville , 18 Feb

50km 3:06:33 Gerda Steyn Cape Town , 13 Apr

KEY | A – Aided course , e . g . point-to-point , and therefore not record-legal .

About the Author

These stats and results are drawn from the weekly Distance Running Results mailer compiled by internationally acclaimed athletics statistician Riël Hauman , who has more than 50 years ’ experience as a journalist , author , publisher , commentator , pundit , administrator , event organiser , coach , team manager and runner in South African athletics , road running and cross country . He is also a former editor of the South African Athletics Annual , and author of two books , Hardloop en Lééf and Century of the Marathon 1896-1996 . To subscribe to his weekly newsletter , send him a mail at rielh @ mweb . co . za .

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