NRC DOMINATES ASA TEAM TO IAU WORLD 100KM CHAMPS

The Nedbank Running Club’s (NRC) stronghold on long distance running in South Africa is once again highlighted with five out of the nine team members selected to represent South Africa at the IAU World 100km Champs in Croatia being athletes from the NRC.

The revised ASA team to the World Champs held on 8 September in Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia, was announced today (Wednesday, July 25th), and includes some of the NRC’s top runners. A great addition to the team is that Nick Bester, National Manager of the NRC and a former Comrades winner himself, has been selected alongside Lindsey Parry, the official Comrades coach, as official coaches to the team.

Exciting news is that the 2018 Comrades winner Bongmusa Mthembu will be part of the South African team while British runner Steve Way, who placed second at Comrades will represent Great Britain. An exciting showdown between Way and Mthembu is expected. Way’s country mate Carla Molinaro, who has just been signed as an elite athlete of the NRC’s Green Dream Team, will also be representing Great Britain at the event.

The announcement of the revised team follows after some controversy with the announcement of the original team. The 2018 Comrades women’s winner Ann Ashworth refused to be part of the team due to what she calls ASA’s continuous lack of support to SA roadrunners.

Shortly after second place Comrades finisher Gerda Steyn and former Comrades winner Charné Bosman also withdrew, but they did so purely because of prior commitments to other races.

Gerda will make a big announcement soon about her next race and it will be very exciting, says Bester. “They are supportive of the team and the new members,” says Bester.

Three out of the five male team members are part of the NRC while two of the four female team members are NRC athletes. “ASA has full confidence that the South African ultra distance team chosen will represent South Africa with honour at the 2018 IAU World 100km Championships,” said Richard Stander, ASA ACEO, in a statement.

In 2016 ASA sent only a men’s team to the world champs. The team performed brilliantly, by finishing first in the men’s team competition, and first in the individual competition.

The members of the 2018 ASA team are:

MEN
•    Ludwick Mamabolo (NRC)
•    Best Ngwenya (NRC)
•    Claude Moshiywa (NRC)
•    Bongmusa Mthembu (Arthur Ford Athletic Club)
•    Nkosinathi Duma (Arthur Ford Athletic Club)

WOMEN
•    Fikile Mbuthuma (NRC)
•    Deanne Horn (NRC)
•    Lisa Collett (Boxer Athletic Club)
•    Salome Cooper (Easy Equities Born2Run Athletic Club)