Johannesburg – A champion still licking his wounds after a failed attempt at smashing a global marathon will toe the start line of the SA Half Marathon Championships eager to show he still has it.
The Eastern Province’s Melikhaya Frans will attempt to hold on to his national title on home ground in tomorrow’s championships, which are incorporated into the Nelson Mandela Bay Half-Marathon in Gqeberha.
Victorious last year in a personal best time of 1:01:03, the athlete trained by Michael Mbambani has taken a liking to the world’s major marathons in an attempt to improve on his PB in the 42.2km distance.
He ran a 2:13:50 at the London Marathon back in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, and was hoping to make a vast improvement on that time in Boston earlier this year. But things went pear-shaped for the national 30km record holder as he struggled to deal with the rainy and cold conditions of the world’s oldest race. He completed the race in a pedestrian 2:22:55 time – his slowest-ever finish since he became an elite.
It was a result that would dent anyone’s confidence and his opponents are sure to line up at the start aware of this.
However, the likes of Stephen Mokoka, Precious Mashele and Elroy Gelant will know not to underestimate Frans as they look to become national champion, and hopefully book their spots in the South African team for the World Half Marathon Championships taking place in Latvia on October 1.
In the women’s race, Athletics Gauteng North’s Glenrose Xaba should have little trouble completing a hat-trick of victories in the championships. The Boxer Athletics Club starlet had a brilliant dress-rehearsal for the nationals last weekend in Gqeberha, when she finished third in the Spar Ladies 10km race.
She was the first South African to cross the finish line of a race won by Ethiopian Tadu Nare with her compatriot Salem Gebre in second place.
Speaking after setting a new 10km PB of 32:12, Xaba said she had held back in anticipation of the Half Marathon Championships.
“Today was not about running too fast because I have the SA Half Marathon Championships next week,” she explained “I needed to improve my time, but it was not about chasing the Ethiopians. My plan was to go as far as I could with them and if they broke away I was never going to go flat out to chase them because I needed to preserve the energy for next week.”
It remains to be seen whether her ploy will bear fruit. It will also be interesting to see if Frans has gotten over the disappointment of Boston.
@Tshiliboy
IOL Sport