Top SA women intent on closing the gap

Though a spike in performances among South African women distance runners seemed to have reached its peak, following a general dip in the standard over the last year or two, a sudden resurgence in recent weeks has offered real hope that long-standing records will eventually fall.

While there had been a lengthy gap in top-flight performances following the retirement of Elana Meyer and Colleen de Reuck’s switch of allegiance to the United States shortly after the turn of the century, some of the country’s top athletes looked to be making inroads in recent years with the likes of Rene Kalmer, Irvette van Zyl, Mapaseka Makhanya and Dom Scott-Efurd giving the national all-time rankings a shake.

However, with Kalmer’s fastest days being behind her (though a potential ultra-distance career lies ahead), Scott-Efurd currently focussing on the track, Makhanya struggling to find her best form and Van Zyl’s progress interrupted by two pregnancies, the race for records on the road seemed to have lost momentum.

Some recent efforts, however, have indicated that the performance curve is back on the rise.

Showing impressive form just a few months after giving birth, Van Zyl’s return to the road has been spectacular, and her victory at the Soweto Marathon last week was one of the best 42km performances

Wesley Bo on

ever produced at altitude.

Her winning time of 2:33:43 on the challenging course was remarkable, and had she been able to find a place at a faster race at sea level, she would almost certainly have become the fifth South African woman to have dipped under the 2:30:00 barrier.

On the same day as the Soweto race, ultra-distance runner Gerda Steyn also flaunted her potential over the Olympic distance, taking 13th place at the prestigious New York Marathon in 2:31:04 and climbing to sixth place in the alltime SA rankings.

Though she is better known for winning the 56km Two Oceans race earlier this year, and taking the runner-up spot behind Ann Ashworth at the 90km Comrades Marathon, Steyn proved she too possesses the speed to dip under 2:30:00, while Van Zyl’s superb form suggests De Reuck’s 22-yearold national record of 2:26:35 could be under threat next year.

And with Scott-Efurd likely to switch her focus to the road at some point down the line, and Nolene Conrad improving significantly as she gains experience over the 42km distance, there is potential depth for local women to push each other to new heights.

In addition, the likes of Kesa Molotsane and Glenrose Xaba have displayed sufficient speed and strength over shorter distances to indicate potentially successful careers in the marathon.

Perhaps they just needed a moment to catch their breaths after their steady rise in recent years, but a brief dearth of world-class performances over the last season or two was seemingly nothing more than a hiccup.

The nation’s top women are back on track in their efforts to close the gap on the global elite, and it seems they are close to breaking new ground.