Gongqa wins epic Two Oceans, Durban debutant Challenor second in women’s race
LUNGILE Gongqa turned back the clock to give Cape Town its first Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon win in 44 years, after a thrilling duel in the latter stages of the race.
The 37-year-old Khayelitsha marathoner gave his all in an epic battle over the last kilometres and was physically ill on the field, collapsing as he broke the tape in triumph, 3hr 9min 43sec after the traditional fish horn sounded in Newlands Main Road.
Cape Town artist and poet, Don Hartley, took his second Two Oceans title in 1973 before upcountry and international athletes took over control of the race, shutting out the locals. Until yesterday. The race will go down in history as one of the most memorable and exciting of all time, with six runners from five countries within a stride of each other at the top of Constantia Nek, 10km from the finish.
The 38-year-old Lesotho athlete, Warinyane Lebopo, drew level with Gongqa just 7km out and matched him stride for stride past the main gates of Kirstenbosch. But yesterday was destined to return a “local hero” and Lebopo was unable to match Gongqa’s final surge for victory. South Africa’s sole remaining contender, Gongqa, was up against the big guns from Kenya, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and Lesotho and few would have bet on the diminutive Cape Town marathoner winning in his ultra-marathon HOMETOWN VICTORY: Lungile Gongqa finishes at the University of Cape Town to win the Two Oceans men’s race yesterday. debut. But dynamite comes in small packages and he exploded away from his rivals to secure a life-changing victory.
“That was probably my biggest win,” the soft-spoken Gongqa said after he had recovered. “I must pay tribute to (former New York Marathon winner) Hendrick Ramaala. I have been training with him for some months in Johannesburg which lay the base for my win today.
“This more than makes up for my disappointment in Rio. The race went to plan – I just knew I had to stick to the lead pack and make my move towards the end. I moved to Cape Town from the Eastern Cape in 2009, and although we still have strong links to Port Elizabeth, I regard myself as a Cape Town athlete now!”
Gongqa’s superb 2:11:59 second position in the 2015 Cape Town Marathon secured him a place in the Olympic marathon team last year, but a combination of illness and the humid weather forced him out of the race before the finish.
Belarusian Maryna Damantsevich gave up an invitation to race the London Marathon to be in Cape Town for Easter and lived up to prerace expectations with an emphatic Two Oceans victory in the women’s competition. She crossed the line in an excellent 3:37:13, given the breezy conditions which prevailed, to beat ultra-marathon debutant, Durban’s Jenna Challenor, by a full 10 minutes. But the apparent ease of her victory belied a dramatic and painful start, as she landed face down on the pavement in the jostle at the start of the race.
Blood pouring from a knee wound, Damantsevich rose, but was twice more inadvertently floored by the stampeding runners. “I was disoriented in the dark and had no idea if any of my rivals were in front or not,” Damantsevich explained. “So I went out quite hard, trying to ignore the pain in my legs.
“It was only when I saw my manager after 17km and he told me I was far in front that I thought I should slow down a bit, as it was quite windy.”
Caroline Wöstmann, bidding for a hat-trick of victories, withdrew after 11km with a hamstring injury.