Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon 2022 Edition | Page 21

ELITES

Nkhosikhona ‘ Pitbull ’ Mhlakwana

have raised their hands as serious contenders to the throne . The first is Nkhosikhona ‘ Pitbull ’ Mhlakwana , who earned his nickname after his gutsy finish at the 2019 Comrades Marathon . Lying ninth as he made his way onto the finish field at the Scottburgh Race Course , Mhlakwana suffered severe cramps that left him desperately clinging to the fence lining the course in order not to collapse . In visible agony , the crowd urged him on , but Mhlakwana could not move , and all he could do was watch as he was passed by two other runners and knocked out of the top 10 gold medal positions . In the end , he fought his way across the line to finish 11th and thus his coach , Prodigal Khumalo , dubbed him ‘ The Pitbull .’

The nickname has stuck as Mhlakwana has continued to make a name for himself in SA running circles . He came within a whisker of breaking his marathon PB when he comfortably won the Best of Best Marathon in Durban in February this year , clocking 2:16:37 ( his PB is 2:16:33 ). Meanwhile , he has demonstrated his wide range by also winning the KZNA Track and Field Championships 1500m in 2021 , clocking 3:57.32 . However , his wins at the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi 52km as well as the 62km leg of the Ultra Trail Drakensburg last year show how strong ‘ The Pitbull ’ is over the tougher ultra routes . The 52km win , in particular , was noteworthy , because he not only came from behind to smash the course record , winning in a time of 2:59:15 , but also defeated his great friend and rival , Bong ’ musa Mthembu .

The other seriously dangerous ‘ newcomer ’ to watch for is Phantane ’ s Sboniso Sikhakane . The 31-year-old stunned the running fraternity when he finished eighth , seemingly from out of nowhere , at last year ’ s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon , which doubled as the SA Marathon Championships . Not at all fancied to make any impression on the Top 10 , due to his 2:25:35 marathon PB from 2020 , Sikhakane took 14 minutes off his best to cross the line in 2:11:49 , also posting a Commonwealth Games qualifier in the process . He is relatively new to running , only having started racing in 2020 , but breaking into the top 10 at an international marathon speaks volumes of his talent and ability .

Don ’ t Forget the ‘ Old Guard ’

Of course , writing off the more experienced ‘ old guard ’ would be a serious mistake , and any of these athlete may have a big say in the final podium positions in the race . Former winner Lebenya Nkoka ( winner in 2014 ) showed he still has what it takes to mount a serious threat by finishing fifth in the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers 50km event in 2021 . Also , 2013 Two Oceans winner David Gatebe was closing all the time in the latter stages of 2019 , crossing the line 3:10:29 and looking strong as he finished second to Bong ’ musa Mthembu . He may be 42 years of age now , but the diminutive David has legs like tree trunks and is brutally strong on the hills , as he showed in winning Two Oceans as well as the 2016 Comrades .

A third veteran to watch for is 47-year-old Mabotile Lebopo , who keeps proving that age is just a number . The Lesotho athlete won Two Oceans in 2010 , but showed just how dangerous he still is by finishing fourth in the 2022 edition of the Nedbank Runified 50km race , run in March .

Steyn hunting a hattrick

In the women ’ s ultra race , the smart money is on the queen of SA Road Running , Gerda Steyn , to record a hattrick of consecutive wins . She was the race winner in both 2018 and 2019 , and in the later race came within 52 seconds of breaking the 3:30:28 course record set by Frith van der Merwe in 1989 . In 2019 she also became the first woman to break six hours on the Comrades Marathon Up Run , and went on to qualify for the Olympic Marathon when she clocked a new marathon PB of 2:27:48 .

Then , with the pandemic shutting down all road racing in early 2020 , Steyn used the opportunity to hone her already incredible speed , and when limited racing returned later that year , she brought her marathon time down to 2:26:51 , then set a new South African marathon record of 2:25:28 when she finished ninth in the Sienna Marathon in 2021 . After that she enjoyed a successful marathon outing at the Olympics in Tokyo , finishing 15th in the women ’ s marathon .

But as much as she is race favourite , Steyn will need to keep a close eye on 2019 third-place finisher Irvette van Zyl , who in 2021 set a women ’ s only 50km World Record by winning the Nebank Runified 50km in a time of 3:04:24 . stronger and wiser in 2022 , van Zyl has quite openly stated that she has unfinished business with the Two Oceans Ultra Marathon , and is determined to improve on that third-place finish .

Fifth in 2018 , a resurgent Ann Ashworth will also be lurking in the wings , should either Steyn or van Zyl falter . Now residing in KwaZulu-Natal , Ashworth has built up her strength by tackling several ultra-trail events in 2021 , winning the 100km Ultra Trail Drakensburg and finishing fourth in the Cape Town Ultra Trail . The 2018 Comrades winner thus adds renewed strength to her speed and endurance on the road this year .