Marathon stars keep on shining
STEYN: RIPS MORE THAN A MINUTE OFF THE SA RECORD
Long-distance runners Gerda Steyn and Irvette van Zyl produced superb breakthrough performances yesterday at the Xiamen Marathon Tuscany Camp Global Elite race in Italy.
While Van Zyl’s result should not be undermined, Steyn was the star performer, slicing more than a minute off the 25-year-old South African record.
The reigning Comrades and Two Oceans ultra-marathon champion again proved her immense potential over the standard 42.2km distance, taking ninth place in 2:25:28.
She ripped 67 seconds off the previous national mark of 2:26:35 which had been set by Colleen de Reuck at the 1996 Berlin Marathon in Germany.
Though Elana Meyer completed the 1994 Boston Marathon in 2:25:15, the time was not recognised as an official record as it was achieved on a downhill, point-to-point course.
Further back in the field yesterday, Van Zyl also shattered her personal best, dipping under the 2:30:00 barrier for the first time by taking 13th position in 2:28:40.
Van Zyl also ducked under the Olympic qualifying standard of 2:29:30, joining Steyn in the SA squad for this year’s Tokyo Games.
Both athletes had initially planned to run the Hamburg Marathon but Covid restrictions had eliminated their plans, though their superb form was not wasted after both managed to find a place in the field for the Tuscany race.
Van Zyl is the sixth South African woman to run under 2:30:00, joining Steyn, De Reuck, Meyer,
Frith van der Merwe and Rene Kalmer under the benchmark time.
One of the nation’s most experienced distance runners, Van Zyl said she was delighted to join this select group.
“I still cant believe I broke 2:30 at last,” Van Zyl said after the race, admitting the result had brought her to tears.
“After all I went through last year with my knee operation, I wasn’t sure I would ever run again, so it’s quite emotional.”