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name among some of the greatest ultra-marathon runners when he won a third consecutive Comrades Ma-rathon title in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Muzhingi stopped the clock on 5 hours 32 minutes 45 seconds for the “up-run” from Durban to Pietermaritz-burg as underrated compatriot Chasara Masiyatsva finished a credible seventh to earn a gold medal.
For his efforts, Muzhingi pocketed US$250 000.
Masiyatsva finished in 5:44.33.
Last year, Muzhingi had won the “down-run” from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in 5 hours 29 minutes after having first taken the crown with a time of 5 hours 23.26min in 2009 along the same 87km route.
In 2008, Muzhingi finished the race in third position with Russian athlete Leonid Shvetsov breaking the run-up-record by 47 seconds with a winning time of 5:24.48.
Muzhingi then clocked 5.39.39 and yesterday he sliced off seven minutes from his previous uphill run of 2009.
By winning the 86th edition of the gruelling race yesterday, Muzhingi became the first man in 23 years to win the Comrades Marathon successively for three years since the legendary Bruce Fordyce won in 1988.
Muzhingi came into the race as the man to beat and never succumbed to the weight of expectations as the third group tightly stalked him.
Another Zimbabwean runner Point Chaza took a commanding lead and appeared a lone ranger as he had bro-ken away early and completed the first 39km in 2 hours 24 minutes.
Chaza consolidated his lead of more than seven minutes at the halfway mark, which he crossed in 2:36.19 on record pace.
Muzhingi was in the third group of athletes who were stalking him, trying to match the runner stride for stride with South African Fanie Matshipa, who had done a lot of the hard work, pushing the pace in the second half.
It spelt trouble for Chaza as he started to hold his stomach while he slowed down on the flat plain.
Chaza, however, faded soon afterwards with Muzhingi and Matshipa storming past him with 30km to the finish line.
Some fans tried to spur Chaza on, but the athlete was wilting like the poppy in his hand while South African runner Matshipa overtook him and looked in control.
But Muzhingi patiently kept track of Matshipa, a green-horn, after having subtracted countryman Chaza.
The defending champion then sneaked clear with 14km remaining to win the 87km ultra-marathon.
Matshipa – who was fifth last year – struggled over Polly Shortts, the last of the race’s five big hills, but held on to cross the line in 5:34.29.
Another South African, Claude Moshiywa, who had faded to seventh last year after taking the early lead, ran a much wiser race to finish third in 5:42.05, holding off Jonas Buud of Sweden by 39 seconds.
In the women’s race the Nurgalieva twins took the lead from the start, and Elena took a tumble 27km into the race.
She was tripped by one of the male runners as they crossed to a water point but she recovered quickly to catch her sister Olesya and they gradually stretched the gap over South African Farwa Mentoor.
Elena broke away in the dying stages to win in 6:24.11 – the slowest winning time in the women’s race since 1999 – and Olesya finished in second position, 14 seconds behind her sibling.
Mentoor, the first South African woman to finish, struggled in the last third of the race, and was passed by American Kami Semick and Ellie Greenwood of Great Britain, but held on to take fifth place in 6:35.49.
South African runners filled seven of the top 10 positions in the men’s race, and four of the top 10 places in the women’s category in the event, which attracted nearly 20 000 participants.
Top men’s results:
1. Stephen Muzhingi (ZIM) 5:32.45,
2. Fanie Matshipa (RSA) 5:34.29,
3. Claude Moshiywa (RSA) 5:42.05,
4. Jonas Buud (SWE) 5:42.44,
5. Gift Kelehe (RSA) 5:43.59,
6. Chasara Masiyatsva (ZIM) 5:44.33,
7. Ludwick Mamobolo (RSA) 5:50.17,
8. Charles Tjiane (RSA)5:50.46,
9. Brian Zondi (RSA), 5:51.08,
10. Mncedisi Mkhize (RSA) 5:51.17
Top women’s results:
1. Elena Nurgalieva (RUS) 6:24.11,
2. Olesya Nurgalieva (RUS) 6:24.35,
3. Kami Semick 6:26.24 (US),
4. Ellie Greenwood (GBR) 6:32.46,
5. Farwa Mentoor (RSA) 6:35.49,
6. Irina Vishnevskaya (RUS) 6:42.07,
7. Elizabeth Hawker (GBR) 6:48.28,
8. Adinda Kruger (RSA) 6:49.01,
9. Kerry Koen (RSA) 6:56.20,
10. Riana van Niekerk (RSA) 6:56.38
Online Reporter