Comrades victors salute their families
Springboks, Proteas, Bok Sevens, Comrades Marathon, local is lekker
FAMILY, support and sticking to the coaches plan are reasons for victory in this year’s Comrades Marathon, say winners Bong’musa Mthembu and Ann Ashworth.
“I will celebrate when I retire… I didn’t even know my family was here! My brother and my sister were here, and I am happy about my victory, said three-time Comrades Marathon winner Mthembu.
He said the victory was a special one for him as he doubted he would finish the race due to circumstances that arose during his training.
“It was not an injury but it disrupted my training. Because of this situation, there were times I couldn’t train.”
He described this situation as something that he thought would destroy him, but he remained focused.
“I was able to own the race and I wasn’t scared to run. I’m happy that I resisted the race’s fast pace till I reached Pinetown, because that is where I saw that it was the right time to make my move.”
Mthembu said it was emotional crossing the finish line because he went through a lot during the season, and he wasn’t sure if he was going to reach Pinetown.
Unlike Mthembu, older brother Thulebone Mthembu said he was more than comfortable that his brother, who they once believed would grow up to become a soccer player, would bag the win again.
“He was a very good soccer player growing up and we played for different teams in school. He played defence, and even I couldn’t get past him because that is how good he was. So when he decided that he was going to branch off from a team and run alone, I knew and had faith he would excel at that as well,” said Thulebone.
Mthembu had not seen his family in two months because of his training, and it was a pleasant surprise for him when he crossed the finish line, and heard that his family were there.
“We are happy as a family. In fact I think the whole of KZN is happy that my brother won again. During his preparation for the race, he would occasionally drop in at my place and ask for a meal while he was there, but you know how these athletes are, all they eat is non-fatty food so that was tricky for me when he visited,” laughed Thulebone.
Ashworth, who is an advocate by profession, crossed the finished line at 6:10.04, ensuring that the title of Comrades Marathon women’s champion 2018 stayed in South Africa.
“It has taken a lot from me and my family, we have made big sacrifices. I ran this race for my mom. She’s over the moon right now. She has been seconding me along the side of the road since I was 12 years old. She is my chief second and my biggest fan; I would do anything for my mom.”
She said while she was thrilled at the win, no one was more surprised at the victory than her.
“My motto for this year’s race was, ‘God made me for a purpose and you should fill his pleasure’. I wanted to make sure that the title is staying in South Africa. I followed the plan we set with my coach, and it was an interesting race. There was a lot of hot pace upfront and I didn’t want to get sucked into it, so I just ran my own race,” Ashworth said.
She explained that training for the race was tough, especially as she hadn’t been at work for the past two months. “If you don’t work you don’t get paid, so it was a tough two months.”
And he wasn’t sure if he was going to make it to Pinetown
IN THE year that Nelson Mandela would have celebrated his centennial birthday, his famous Madiba Magic surely shone down on South African sporting teams this past weekend.
Sports fans all around Mzansi were cheering on raucously after the Springboks, the Proteas women and the Bok Sevens teams achieved a treble of victories over archrivals England, while the illustrious Comrades Marathon was also won by South Africans Bongmusa Mthembu and Ann Ashworth.
The icing on the cake, though, was the Blitzboks stealing the World Rugby Sevens Series championship from under the noses of Fiji by beating England 24-14 in Paris yesterday evening. This meant that the Blitzboks retained their World Series title.
After a couple of glum seasons that have seen the Springboks fall down to seventh position in the World Rugby rankings, the Boks roared back after facing a 24-3 deficit to claim an unforgettable comefrom-behind 42-39 victory at Emirates Airline Park on Saturday. The win had even greater significance due to new Springbok captain Siya Kolisi – the first black African to lead the Boks – running out in the very same No 6 jersey Madiba famously wore on that unforgettable day when Francois Pienaar’s Boks famously lifted the golden World Cup trophy back in 1995.
Bok wings Sibusiso Nkosi and Aphiwe Dyantyi delivered master-class performances in their Bok debut, with Nkosi scoring a brace of tries while Dyantyi scored a try as well.
“It is a huge honour to score on my debut. Yes I do (remember every part of the game). With a burning chest it is hard to forget, it’s tough playing at altitude; we did well though it was tough. I won’t forget this game very soon,” Nkosi said.
“I wasn’t nervous in the beginning. The little amount of nerves I did experience were diminished very quickly by the older guys,” Nkosi said.
“I don’t think it gets better than that,” the 23-year-old Dyantyi said.
The Madiba spirit stretched all the way through the West Midlands of England where Dane van Niekerk’s Proteas team avenged last year’s heartbreaking ICC Women’s World Cup semi-final defeat to the hosts. Van Niekerk led from the front with a sparkling half-century, while opener Lizelle Lee also contributed a powerful 92 not out to steer the Proteas to a comprehensive seven-wicket victory over the world champions. The win could not be achieved without the sparking performances of seam bowlers Shabnim Ismail (3/25) and Ayabonga Khaka (3/42).
The revelry continued closer to home with the Comrades once again proving to be a celebration of the human spirit, with Durban and Pietermaritzburg putting on a spectacle.
Mthembu completed a hat trick of victories after previously winning in 2014 and 2017. Mthembu won in a time of 5:26.35 and is right behind Comrades “king” Bruce Fordyce on the alltime South African winners’ list.
“When I crossed the finish line I was very emotional. To win the Comrades is not easy, it took a lot of kilometres (of training),” Mthembu said.
“It means a lot to me and I am looking forward to seeing what is going to happen after this win. I am lucky because I do it for the love of the sport, so I think that is the main driving force.”
Mthembu had to deal with the death of close teammate Siphiwe Ndlela, who died at a training camp in March. He had to cut his training camp short for a memorial service for Ndlela.
Mthembu made history last year when he became the first South African to win the race more than once since Fordyce. Fordyce was coincidentally the last local athlete to win back-to-back titles, in 1988.