Africa’s GOLD, as Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label status marathon, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

Cape Town, 15 September 2019 – It came right down to the wire in the 2019 edition of Sanlam Cape Town Marathon as Edwin Koech held off pacemaker Daniel Muteti to win Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label Status marathon.

With a 2:08 target, Alex Kibarus and Daniel Muteti stuck to their tasks as pacemakers and took the lead pack of 20 runners through 10km in 30:20 in near perfect conditions for the fifth year in a row. Halfway came and went in 1:03.46 and something special was clearly on the cards. 14 runners were still in the lead pack at the halfway mark, with Elroy Galant and Gladwin Mzazi of South Africa prominently placed. Kibarus, his job as pacemaker done, dropped out, but Muteti gamely stuck to his task, hoping to take the runners to 35km.

At 30km the clock read 1:31:06 with seven athletes still in the hunt for line honours and the course record, including Galant. But it was at this time that the athletes turned into the South Westerly wind. Galant started to take some strain from this point on as Muteti and Koech continued to drive the pace (35km in 1:46.17, Galant 1:46.28). It was in the final kilometre that Koech was able to break Muteti who must have fancied his chances to not only pace, but also win the overall title. Koech came home to win 2:09.20 with Muteti second (2:09.25). Mohamed Ziani surged past Galant in the closing stages of the race to take the final podium position (2:09.29). Galant, in only his second Marathon had to settle for fourth, but improved his marathon time from 2:12.50 to 2:10.31.

“I am very happy to win here today,” said Edwin Koech after this race. “The route is really good and conditions were perfect. We were hoping for the record, but we found that at 30km when we turned back, we hit the wind and we lost time.” Koech added that he would be very interested in returning, should he receive an invitation again.

Galant also took the title of SA Marathon Champion which took some of the sting off not finishing on the podium. “I am not happy. I really wanted to run a bit faster and get onto the podium. The SA Title is great though and the Olympic Qualifier under my belt is good. But a podium is what I really wanted. So it is a bittersweet run.”

Galant went on to say that he struggled a bit in the last 7km. “My stomach was playing up a bit. So that did affect me.” Gelant still fought valiantly and had to throw up on the finish line.

This was arguably the deepest women’s field yet assembled at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and it showed. Celestine Chepchirchir led (the top three women under the previous record of 2:29.28 set by Namibia’s Helalia Johanes in 2018). With six sub 2:30 athletes in the field, it was hardly surprising that the women’s field delivered.

From the gun a group of nine athletes set a blistering pace, going through the 10km mark in 34:02, led by Kenya’s Janet Jelagat Rono. Halfway came and went in 72:04 driven by Nurit Yimam. The group was on a 2:24/2:25 finish. Gradually the high intensity started to whittle down the leading women until there were only three left to battle it out after 35km. By 40km, Chepchirchir had taken control of the race, with a 28 second lead over Nurit Yimam who had 16 seconds on Gete Tilahun.  

Chepchirchir held on to win, clocking 2:26.44 to lead the top three inside the course record of 2:29.28. Yimam finished second (2:27.40) with Tilahun rounding out the podium (2:28.32). By breaking the course record, Chepchirchir added a R100 000 incentive bonus to the first prize of R265 000.

As in 2018, the 2019 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon incorporated the South African Marathon Championships. Cornelia Joubert took her second National Marathon title, coming home in 2:43.18

“We are truly fortunate. It seems that every year we are able to gather a deeper field than the previous year and the results are clearly evident as the winning times over the years have shown,” said Janet Welham, Race Director for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. “Being Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label Status marathon does mean that we are a very attractive prospect for athletes from around the globe which allows us secure such deep fields.”

“Throughout my running career, the marathon was always the big one, the big race that was always the one to ultimately do. I was never able to run a marathon of this magnitude on home soil and so to be part of this event is an incredible honour and privilege. That it is now possible for South Africans to have that experience right here in South Africa is a dream come true,” said race ambassador Elana van Zyl–Meyer.

Sydney Mbhele, Chief Executive: Sanlam Brand, “Congratulations to all the 2019 winners and each and every participant in this year’s Sanlam Cape Town Marathon. As sponsors of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon and Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label Marathon, we are honoured to be part of this magnificent journey.  We are proud of the milestones that this event and all associated with it have achieved within a short space of time. These achievements have been made possible by the hard work, commitment and dedication of all involved in planning and staging this event.”

Mbhele added, “Sanlam and Sanlam Cape Town Marathon have a shared belief in the potential of Africa and its people. Through a shared vision, we can unlock the true potential of our continent and its people. The prestigious achievements recorded here today bear testimony to this and the enormous success and popularity of this incredible marathon. In light of recent occurrences in South Africa, we hope that the message of peace and change that we are sending throughout this race will have a positive impact.”

Africa is my home, this is my race. It’s Cape Town, must run it!

#Run4Change
#ChallengeYourself; #ChallengeYourFriend; #CaptainsChallenge

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For media enquiries, please contact:

CRAIG DUMMETT

PR for the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

021-418-2466

082-072-4103

craig@transformmarketing.co.za

ABOUT THE SANLAM CAPE TOWN MARATHON

Africa’s GOLD, as Africa’s only IAAF Gold Label status marathon, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is an exhilarating festival of running that brings together runners, elite athletes, social joggers and surrounding communities to enjoy a spring weekend of running through Africa’s spectacularly beautiful Mother City.

The classic Olympian 42.2km marathon takes centre stage on the Sunday, which follows a 10km Peace Run in the morning, and two Peace Trail Runs (12km and 22km) and a 5km Peace Run/ Walk on the Saturday.

As Africa’s “must run” iconic city marathon, it aims to facilitate and leverage change at a national level through its Run4Change Legacy Programme, comprising five pillars:

• To focus on HEALTH and WELLNESS
• To become one of the biggest FUNDRAISING sporting events in South Africa
• To promote PEACE and SPORT
• To be a SUSTAINABLE event
• To DEVELOP and EMPOWER South African Athletes

Managed by a joint partnership through Western Province Athletics (WPA), ASEM Running and the City of Cape Town, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, to be held in September, is endorsed by Elana Van Zyl-Meyer and Francois Pienaar.

It offers a competitive yet beautiful route, providing runners with a unique experience that highlights the city’s natural splendor and top cultural attractions. The field is inclusive of the world’s elite athletes, club and non-club runners, casual joggers, social runners and walkers. Athletes and spectators can enjoy Cape Town’s unique festive atmosphere at safe, fun supporter zones along the route, and at the finish in Green Point.

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ABOUT SANLAM GROUP 

Sanlam is a pan-African financial services group listed on the Johannesburg, Namibian and A2X stock exchanges. Through its five business clusters – Sanlam Personal Finance, Sanlam Pan Africa, Sanlam Investments, Sanlam Corporate and Santam – the Group provides comprehensive and bespoke financial solutions to institutional clients and consumers across all market segments. Sanlam’s areas of expertise include insurance (life and general), financial planning, retirement, investments and wealth. Established in 1918 as a life insurance company, Sanlam has become the largest non-banking financial services group in Africa, through its diversification strategy. Headquartered in South Africa, Sanlam has a direct stake in financial services entities in Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mauritius, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and Nigeria. It also owns SAHAM Finances Group, thereby having a footprint of insurance operations in Morocco, Angola, Algeria, Tunisia, Ghana, Niger, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Cote D’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Cameroon, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Burundi, and Lesotho, making it the largest non-banking financial services group in Africa. Sanlam also has exposure to insurance businesses in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom and has business interests in the USA, Australia, the Philippines, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. For further information, visit www.sanlam.com or follow us @sanlam.