The Mandela Day Marathon Organising Committee has applauded the winners and supporters of this year’s race whose main 42.2km discipline today once again covered the iconic route between Edendale and the Mandela Capture Site outside Howick for the seventh time.
The Mandela Day Marathon Organising Committee comprises representatives of KZN Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) and uMgungundlovu District Municipality who have jointly co-organised the race since its inception in 2012.
“Some 24 000 registered runners have ‘run the legacy’ in various disciplines during Nelson Mandela’s centenary year, creating a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience for everyone present. The human spirit has once again triumphed,” said KZN MEC for Cogta Nomusa Dube-Ncube.
The winners of the main 42.2km race are Sintayehu Legese Yinesu (Nedbank Running Club Ethiopia) in the men’s category and Loice Jebet (Nedbank/Kenya) in the women’s category. The winners of the 21.1km race are Bernard Bii (Nedbank/Kenya) in the men’s category and Mamorallo Tjoka (Nedbank Running Club Lesotho) in the women’s category.
The second and third in the main 42.2km race are Mabuthile Lebopo (Nedbank Running Club Lesotho) and Mark Oyugu (Nedbank/Kenya), respectively, in the men’s race and Selam Abere Alebachew (Nedbank Running Club Ethiopia) and Tsega Galani Reta (South Africa), respectively, in the women’s race.
“The Mandela Day Marathon has again demonstrated our capacity to organise world-class sporting events that not only bring people together for a common purpose but also provide much needed economic opportunities for our communities and municipalities in KZN,” said Dube-Ncube.
The annual Mandela Day Marathon aims to celebrate and preserve the legacy of the late former President Nelson Mandela but also provide business and jobs for the local communities in the uMgungundlovu district. The marathon is also helping to market KZN as a tourist and investment destination.
“Our cheers go to all winners and participants of this year’s marathon. As exciting as it is to win a sporting event of this nature, the best experience is to participate. We also applaud all visitors who have come to cheer these athletes,” said uMgungundlovu district Mayor Cllr Thobekile Maphumulo.
The seventh edition of the Mandela Day Marathon has exceeded all expectations in terms of participants’ numbers and facilities available to athletes and observers.
Results of other races are available at www.mandelamarathon.co.za