Heat and altitude affect Niklas
NIKLAS Sjöblom lived up to his promise that he would win the South African leg of the Wings for Life Word Run yesterday.
But the Switzerland-based Swede got nowhere near breaking the 70km mark, the heat and altitude getting the better of him as he stopped at the 53.8km mark.
A winner in Switzerland last year, Sjöblom came to Pretoria intent on bettering his 70.10km run.
He led from the start and looked good for the win with the question mainly being whether he will better the local record of 68.86km set by Eric Ngubane in Cape Town four years ago.
In the end though the distance he covered was the shortest here although it should be pointed out that the catcher cars started at a much faster speed – 15km/hour – than last year and thus ensured shorter distances were covered in the global races.
“I am super stoked I win because this was very tough, brutal,” Sjöblom said. “I felt the altitude and the heat and the hills, that’s why I stopped. Also I have had a little niggle on my knee. But my mind was ready to go all the way although not good enough to challenge for the global title. But I am super stoked.”
In the ladies race, Olesya Nurgalieva ruled supreme, the Russian covering a distance of 42.8km. “I am very happy I am the winner today but I realise that maybe I should have started a little slower because later in the race I was tired.”
It was a fantastic day for Russia all round as they won both the male and female global titles.
Ivan Motorin was the conqueror yesterday.
His victory marked a remarkable improvement as he was 20th overall last year. He won this year with a distance of 64.3km running in the windy conditions out in Istanbul, Turkey. His compatriot Nina Zarina won the women’s race having covered an impressive 53.5km.
The Wings For Life Word Run is a global race that takes place in about 35 countries at the same time with the sole purpose of raising funds for research for the healing of spinal cord injuries.
Unlike normal races, there is not set distance target that runners must target but instead they run until a catcher car reaches them to bring an end to their race.