Irvette to go on, baby permitting
TWO OCEANS: VAN ZYL NOT SURE IF SHE WILL COMPETE
Molotsane canters to victory in Spar race in Bellville.
Having turned heads with an impressive performance yesterday, distance runner Irvette van Zyl says she’ll keep racing as long as she’s allowed to travel.
While pre-race favourite Kesa Molotsane secured a commanding victory at the first leg of the Spar Women’s Grand Prix 10km series in Bellville, much of the attention revolved around Van Zyl, who finished third despite being more than six months into her second pregnancy.
After crossing the line in 35:07, Van Zyl confirmed she would be back in Cape Town this weekend for the popular Old Mutual Two Oceans Half-Marathon.
“I think Two Oceans will be my last race (before giving birth) but you never know,” Van Zyl said.
“Maybe I’ll run the Spar race in Port Elizabeth (in May) as well, but it’ll all depend on whether I can fly.”
Defending Grand Prix series champion Molotsane stretched out the lead group before breaking clear in the second half, coasting to victory in 34:10.
She finished 29 seconds ahead of runner-up Glenrose Xaba.
Though five of the country’s top road runners were missing, as they were on international duty at the World Half-Marathon Championships in Valencia, it was a convincing win by Molotsane who was feeling ill ahead of the race.
“I thought maybe Glenrose was going to break away from all of us but she didn’t, so after 6km I saw an opportunity and decided to go, just to push the time,” Molotsane said.
Meanwhile, Nolene Conrad produced a stunning performance by her own standards in Valencia on Saturday, earning IAAF Gold Label status after setting a personal best of 1:11:44 to finish 25th at the global 21.1km championships.
Stephen Mokoka was the best of the South African men’s contingent, taking 16th place in 1:01:26 and leading the national squad to sixth place in the team competition.