Latest news with #MaxedElite
The Citizen
01-08-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Athletes compete in CGA cross-country league event
Tsakane resident Lesetja Papo capped a successful sixth Central Gauteng Athletics (CGA) cross-country league meeting with a dominant performance in the open men's 10km race at Charl Baard Stadium in Brakpan on July 26. Due to a waterlogged field at Tsakane Softball Complex, behind the Faranani Multipurpose Centre, the event was moved to Brakpan. Papo, of Maxed Elite, ran the five laps of the course in 31:41 for his second consecutive victory in the distance after clinching the win in league four in Daveyton on June 28. ALSO READ: Former learner at Edenglen High awarded at CGA Papo surged to the front from the gun and never looked back as he led the race from start to finish, laying waste to a field that included his Maxed Elite teammate Karabo Ntholeng and Inkamana AC's Sakhile Sangweni. Mokaedi Pheko was seven seconds off the pace after crossing the line in 31:48 for second place. Kopano Athletic Club's Kutlwano Molotsi clinched the last podium place in 32:25. In other notable results from Kwatsaduza athletes, Thabo Masina of Waterfall AC clocked 34:39 for 10th in the men's 10km. Mamepe Striders' Lefa Kwanele ran the two laps of the course in 13:21 for fourth place in the U23 men's 4km race, finishing behind winner Cornè de Fouw. Tshepo Letsolo of Cool Runnings finished second, and Tshepo Motsoeneng of Boxer was third. Kedi Mohwang placed fifth in the senior women's 2km with a time of 08:41, while Simphiwe Radebe was fifth in the junior women's 2km, clocking 08:49. In the juniors' events, Langaville's Zanele Mzizi proved again why she was one of CGA's top junior talents with an incredible performance in the girls' U14 4km. ALSO READ: CGA host their last Sub Youth champs She clocked 15:46 for second place, finishing behind the dominant Chelsea van Dyk of Benoni Northerns Athletic Club. Mzizi's teammate Thoko Ndlovu claimed second in the U12 girls' 3km (10:24), while Minenhle Kgaphola secured third in the U13 girls' 3km (11:20). Witness Parara placed fifth in his race. Maletsatsi Mnisi of Tsakane AC clocked 16:57 in the U17 girls' 4km for third, and Mamepe's Thabiso Jiyane finished fourth in the U12 boys' 3km. The focus now shifts to the provincial championships on August 16 in Germiston. CGA cross-country commission chairperson, Val Brentano, said the athletes will be fighting for the top six spots to be considered for selection for the ASA cross-country championships in Middleburg during September. 'Athletes are reminded that they must run at least three out of six leagues plus the CGA Championships to be considered for selection to represent the province,' she said.
IOL News
06-06-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Gerda Steyn favoured to win the Comrades Marathon, but the men's race remains unpredictable
Gerda Steyn GERDA Steyn is favoured to winn the Women's race in the 2025 Comrades Marathon. | Sibonelo Ngcobo/Independent Newspapers Equally motivated will be his club mate yet adversary in the form of Piet Wiersma. The Dutchman has to be considered a possible winner given how close he ran Dijana in 2023. The South African in me of course wants one of our own to keep the title home. And there are a few athletes who can do just that, the standout being defending Down Run champion Morena Tete Dijana. But that has never stopped us from trying to play Nostradamus, has it? And I am not going to start now and shirk out of having a go. The men's race on the other hand is not so clear-cut. As it is, predicting a winner is tantamount to attempting to tell dark blue from black in the dark – impossible. Sure, there are some competitive runners who are likely to run her close. But you are not going to find punters putting high odds against her not winning. DURBAN - GERDA Steyn's status as a firm favourite to win the women's race in Sunday's Comrades Marathon is a given. Wiersma showed with that compelling run for a second spot that it is possible for a foreign rookie to win the race. There is one such rookie brought here by Maxed Elite in the form of Frenchman Guillaume Ruel who could pull the rug from underneath the aforementioned duo of Nedbank, a club he previously ran for. The 27-year-old who stands at a strapping 1.87m was in South Africa three years ago for the Nedbank Runified 50km where he ran the European record at 2:47:23. He said on Thursday during the press conference that he's here on a reconnaissance trip and will be returning to be competitive the following year, explaining that he's not fully fit having had an Achilles operation earlier in the year. That could well be. But athletes are known to play down their chances and with his kind of speed – he boasts a 2:14:48 standard marathon PB - and the fact he holds the French 100km record at 6:13:41 9:51 suggests he is going to be pretty competitive. The Comrades Marathon is renowned for being unkind to highly-rated foreigners though and few have had their noses bloodied by the world's most famous ultra. In recent years the locals have dominated the race, with the Nedbank Running Club having won it in the last four years. Dijana's teammate and captain Edward Mothibi was a winner in 2019 and his second and third place finishes in the previous two Down Runs suggests he should not be overlooked. Like Dijana, he had a poor run last year finishing 16th and while he says he is simply going for a top 10, the reality is that the man they call Slender has it in him to push for glory. Their former teammate Joseph Manyedi who won the veteran's category with his fourth-place finish has found a new lease on life at Maxed Elite. He has all intentions to get a podium finish for his new employers who will have the battle-hardened Teboho Sello once again pushing for glory. He has all intentions to get a podium finish for his new employers who will have the battle-hardened Teboho Sello once again pushing for glory. The Comrades stalwart that is Bongmusa Mthembu remains a force of the race even though it appears that his glory days are long gone, but cannot be completely written off. And then there's three-time gold medalist Gordon Lesetedi who is coached by the champion-producing John Hamlett who has said he is going for victory On the face of it, this could easily be a two-horse race between Dijana and Wiersma. But such is the unpredictability of the Comrades Marathon that the winner could well come from left field. We are in for an intriguing race this weekend.
