Comrades titles stay in SA
THEIR bodies may not have shown it but it was the grimace on the faces of Bong’musa Mthembu and Ann Ashworth that gave away the pain endured in ensuring the Comrades Marathon titles remained in South Africa.
Some gave up the fight and only the mentally strong like KwaZulu-Natal’s Mthembu and Gauteng’s Ashworth held on to pick up their gold medals yesterday.
“To run the Comrades is not easy – experience won it for me,” Mthembu said.
He is the second South African man to win Comrades back-to-back since Bruce Fordyce in 1988.
The Arthur Ford Athletics runner also cited the know-how of winning the race as the key to completing a hat-trick of titles after his other triumphs in 2014 and last year.
“I know how to win the Comrades and I’m glad I was able to own the race as the guys were going with a crazy pace, especially [Marco] Mambo,” Mthembu said.
Asked how he would celebrate his latest victory, which he attained in 5:26:34, he responded like a true champion.
“I do it for the love of sport and that’s what drives me. I’ll celebrate when I retire,” he said to much laughter inside the Moses Mabhida media conference room.
It was a South African 1-2 in the two categories with Joseph Mphuthi and Gerda Steyn clinching the runners-up spots.
Mthembu made his breakthrough at Cowies Hill, regarded as a critical point that separates contenders from pretenders with 18km to go.
At that point, he left the rest of the pack to jostle for the remaining berths and Joseph Mphuthi followed.
The biggest surprise in the group was Edward Mothibi, who nailed the fourth spot on his Comrades debut as South African men went on to occupy seven places in the top 10.
Ashworth and Steyn conceded that the pace was fast.
“I don’t think anything could have gone better for me today,” Ashworth, who cut the tape in 6:10:04, said.
“I’ll sacrifice anything for this race, including my job although, if I don’t work, I won’t get any money,” the practicing lawyer said.
It was also an incredible achievement for Steyn‚ 28‚ the reigning Two Oceans Marathon champion‚ who is touted as the rising star of women’s ultra running. – TimesLIVE
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