Zitha wins first 10km race

Azelia Zitha’s star continued to shine bright when the East Athletic Club youngster won the Emalahleni City Marathon 10km race at Witbank High School on September 21.

Zitha’s impressive streak over the distance extended to two podiums after claiming runner-up honours in the Daveyton Street Mile 10km race on August 25 before clocking her first victory in the event in the Witbank race.

This was another dominant performance from the Daveyton resident. Averaging 4:11min/km, she led from the gun and ultimately took the tape with a winning margin of almost six minutes after crossing the line in 41:47, shaving 54 seconds of her PB achieved at the Daveyton Street Mile.

Kamogelo Mnisi arrived at the finish 05:51 after Zitha for the silver, and Bathabile Msoto clocked 50:04 to round up the podium.

Zitha’s victory comes on the back of a successful cross-country season. She won the U17 girls’ 4km provincial title before placing eighth at the nationals on September 7.

Other results

Northerns’ Sipho Dzingwa clocked 03:38:33 to claim the second spot in the men’s grandmaster (60-69) category, finishing 01:46 behind winner Elias Mandleni, who won in 03:36:48.

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