Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
BLESSING Waison marked his debut appearance at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon with a podium finish, coming third over the weekend in Cape Town, South Africa.
It was his first ultra marathon, and Waison, who has become one of the leading marathon runners in the country, gave it his all to finish third in 3 hours 11 minutes 13 seconds.
Going into the race, Waison was aiming for a top-10 finish and could not hide his joy after securing a podium place on Saturday.
“I had a good race.
“I am really happy because I made the top three. I wasn’t expecting it.
“But at some point during the race, I felt like it was possible to win the race. I wanted to win the race but, since it was my first time, I lacked experience and at some point, I mixed up my calculations. I didn’t have the experience at this level. But I thank God I managed my race well,” said Waison.
The Cadence Athletics Club runner led for most of the race, but experience proved key in the last few kilometres.
It was a South African affair in the top two, with Arthur Jantjies winning the race in 3 hours 9 minutes 25 seconds, while Onalenna Khonkhobe was second in 3 hours 10 minutes.
Waison conceded it was a tough outing competing with top athletes from different countries.
“The competition was tough because there were top runners from Kenya, Lesotho, and since it was my first time. I was just focusing on the pace we agreed with my coach, so I was just running my own pace based on my coach’s instructions.
“It’s a tough course, there is too much uphill, the downhill is also very difficult. But I managed to maintain my pace. Overall, I can say it was a good race.
“Now I am going back to my usual 42km races. For now, I am done with ultra marathon, I will come back next year,” Waison said.
He credited his success to his coach Alden Muhoni and Real Star Security for their sponsorship, which made it possible for him to be part of this year’s race. In the women’s category, South Africa-based Nobuhle Tshuma also managed a third-place finish in 3 hours 38 minutes 34 seconds, while Loveness Madziva finished 10th in 3 hours 48 minutes 54 seconds. South Africa’s Gerda Steyn clocked 3 hours 27 minutes 43 seconds to win the race. Margaret Jepchumba of Kenya was second in 3 hours 33 minutes 31 seconds.
For finishing third in the Open Category, Waison and Tshuma received R100 000 each.
The winners in both the men’s and women’s categories got R380 000, and the runners-up received R220 000 each.
In yesterday’s Half Marathon, Fortunate Chidzivo finished second in the women’s category in 1 hour 16 minutes 29 seconds.
Namibia’s Lavinia Haitope romped to victory in 1 hour 14 minutes 36 seconds, and Emma Browne from Great Britain was third in 1 hour 18 minutes 9 seconds.
In the men’s category, Kenya’s Felix Masai led his compatriots to a clean sweep of the top three positions. He won the race in 1 hour 3 minutes 17 seconds, ahead of Shadrack Musyoka and Joshua Mengich.
Musyoka came second in 1 hour 3 minutes 41 seconds, and Mengich was third with a time of 1 hour 3 minutes 42 seconds.
