THE Durban International Marathon crowned its winners on Sunday as South Africa’s Reghen Magwai and Ethiopia’s Alemitu Lema claimed victory in the men’s and women’s races respectively.

The marathon doubled as the Athletics SA (ASA) Marathon National Championships which saw Magwai and Annie Bothma claim the national titles.

In the marathon, Magwai, representing Athletics Gauteng North, displayed grit and tenacity to claim the men’s title in a time of 2:11:20. He was joined on the podium by Samuel Moloi and Simon Sibeko.

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In the women’s race Lema showed exceptional class, shattering the women’s course record by more than three minutes to finish in a time of 2:26:44.

Lema erased Cian Oldknow’s 2024 record in emphatic fashion.

She was joined by Bothma, running in the colours of KZN Athletics, who finished second to capture the national title for the second time in her career, clocking a new personal best of 2:27:45.

For Bothma, who stormed to silver, it was a sweet finish, especially after a rollercoaster journey since winning the Durban International Marathon in 2023, which included back surgery just last year. It was another successful race for the organisers, with close to 7000 runners taking part across the 10km and marathon distances.

Siftolina Daba Chemeda finished third.

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