Pretoria star athlete runs world-best time in 50km ultra marathon

Well-known Olympic marathon athlete from Pretoria, Irvette van Zyl, made history in Gqeberha (previously Port Elizabeth) on Sunday when she set a new world-best time in the 50km ultra marathon for women.

Van Zyl, who recently qualified to represent South Africa in the standard marathon (42km) at the Olympics, would initially have only participated as a pacemaker in the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers race in the Eastern Cape.

However, after 30km, when she and the other official Nedbank Running Club pacemaker, Gerda Steyn, completed their responsibility for their club, Van Zyl realized she felt good enough to finish the race in a world-class time. She then communicated with the manager and coach of the Nedbank club, Nick Bester, who encouraged her to keep going.

Eventually Van Zyl won the women’s event in 3:04:23, banking R100 000 cash for the win and an extra R150 000 for breaking the world-best time. In the process, Van Zyl beat international stars such as Bashanke Bilo from Ethiopia, Dominika Stelmach from Poland and Russian Alexandra Marozova.

She took nearly three minutes off the previous best time of 3:07:20 set by Alyson Dixon of Great Britain in Brasov, Romania in September 2019.

Lilian Chemweno of Kenya took second place in 3:05:00 and Stelmach was third in 3:10:26.

In the men’s race, Ethiopian athlete Ketema Negasa took the win in 2:42:07. He obliterated the global best of 2:43:38, which was set by South African athlete Thompson Magawana in Cape Town in April 1988. Negasa also cashed in a total of R250 000 for the win and record.

Jonas Makhele was the first South African, finishing second overall in 2:42:14, and countryman Ntsindiso Mphakathi ended third in 2:42:56.

The race, initiated and presented by Nedbank Athletics Club under the supervision of Athletics South Africa (ASA), was a huge success and, according to James Moloi, the new President of ASA, there are apparently plans to expand the race and make it an annual event.