High Five for Steyn as Khonkhobe dances to Two Oceans Gold

Gerda Steyn reached scarcely believable ultra-marathon heights at the 53^rd  Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon in Cape Town this morning (Saturday 13 April), while Klerksdorp athlete, Onalenna Khonkhobe transformed an error in 2022 into an outstanding victory today, just two weeks shy of his 28^th birthday.

Khonkhobe also lived up to his show-stopping prediction at the pre-race media conference for elite athletes.  “Tomorrow the cameras will all be on me at the finish of Two Oceans,” Khonkhobe had boldly proclaimed, sitting alongside such big-name marathoners as Stephen Mokoka and last year’s winner Givemore Mudzinganyama.

His rivals laughed at the young man’s boldness, but they weren’t laughing as they could only watch his heels vanish into the distance as he raced across the finish line on the University of Cape Town’s ‘Green Mile’ in 3 hr 09 min 30 sec.

But it was close and supremely hard-fought with no fewer than eight athletes leading the race at different stages and less than 80 seconds separating the top ten just 6km from the finish.  

Two years ago Khonkhobe stumbled and fell at a refreshment station shortly after cresting Constantia Nek, losing valuable ground on the leaders. In an adrenaline-boosted surge, he accelerated too quickly to regain the lead and lost it on the steep descent to Kirstenbosch, dropping back to finish sixth.

A wiser Khonkhobe learned from his mistake and took the lead from a charging Lloyd Bosman at the same place he lost it in 2022, this time never again to lose it in the race to the finish.

“I feel so happy,” the Nedbank NW runner said.  “When I took the lead around 51km I remembered the promise I had made and that made me determined not to lose the race this time.  This is my biggest win ever!”

Given the quality of the field and the hard-core racing in the final 14km past the standard marathon mark, it is clear that the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon remains a race of the highest quality and a sought-after trophy for the continent’s top ultra-marathoners.

“When you come to Oceans you have to be at your best,” said last year’s winner, Givemore Mudzinganyama, who put up a courageous defence of his title to finish third. “The competition was top notch today.”

George-based Bosman, who had never previously won gold, was the surprise package of the day. He ran the race of his life to grab the lead from Lesotho’s Khoarahlane Seutloali  49km into the race and looking every inch a winner 6km from the finish.

Only a superb display of fast downhill running from Khonkhobe turned that dream around, but Bosman fought all the way to the finish to close out just 28 seconds behind his Nedbank teammate. “I’m on the same training programme as my friend Elroy Gelant,” Bosman related. “And when Elroy had that great race in Gqeberha last week I knew I’d do well today.”

And then there was Steyn, whose performance had the race announcers struggling for superlatives to do justice to a performance which elevated her to new Oceans’ magnificence. Her 3:26:54 victory was 2 min 12 sec inside her previous course record and made her the first athlete to win five Two Oceans ultra-marathons – and in succession.

But it was the manner of her victory and her graciousness in acceptance which truly set Steyn apart. “I don’t think I can do what I do without such support from my family and supporters,” Steyn admitted. “It’s not a talent I gave myself, it’s a God-given talent and the least I can do is to share it.

“People woke early to support the race and scream at the top of their lungs. Not to mention my family, who drove through the night two days ago to be here. That kind of support means the world to me and really motivates me.”

Steyn could sympathise with the race announcers. “Every year when I run Two Oceans I think it can’t get better than this and every year seems to trump the previous year! Today was so special and I’m really grateful.”

Spare a thought for Hollywood’s Irvette van Zyl, who raced to a personal best, once again inside 3 hr 30 min, but her impressive and hard-fought second place in 3:29:30 ended in tears of pain and trauma, following a fall early in the race which left her with knee-pain and the need to play catch-up to Steyn from early on.

She came back at Steyn on several occasions and took the lead up Chapman’s Peak before Steyn hit back on the descent into Hout Bay. But she fought back again and was just 25 seconds adrift of Steyn at the top of Constantia Nek, 10km from home before Steyn turned on the turbo in the final stages.

Three athletes went to the start line having qualified to race the Olympic Marathon in Paris in August, but any thoughts that Steyn might have been prepared to ease her passage around the ‘World’s Most Beautiful Marathon’ in the light of what is to come, were swept away with the breathtaking speed of Steyn’s opening gambit. The Phantane athlete blitzed through 5km in 17:42, effectively still part of the large men’s elite pack. And she confirmed the importance of Two Oceans after the race.

“Two Oceans was always a big goal for me. I have been focused to give 100% today and not simply use the race to prepare for Paris. My race preparation and strategy went according to plan.  I knew I was capable of a fast time today, but that’s no guarantee – it still has to go well on race day. Who knows how the body will respond?

“I tried not to let record phase me too much – my main goal was simply to win. But I still wanted to run my best even when I’d taken the lead.”

Van Zyl’s Paris preparation might have taken a knock, but she was confident of a full recovery following her planned two weeks of recuperation. “I think this will just make me more determined than ever and I’m hopefully that I haven’t suffered injury.”

Mokoka, in his Two Oceans Ultra debut, was the third potential Olympian and while his race did not go according to plan, his decision to end his race 8km before the finish was indicative of his professionalism and focus on the Paris race.

“My body wasn’t feeling great – I felt a bit dizzy – and the danger on the steep descent is that you can fall. So I withdrew just after 50km and avoided the muscle damage of the steep downhill.  At 48km the guys started to turn over the pace and my body just wasn’t there to respond.

“I think the race was good, it was a good experience – quite windy and very hilly – I’m not used to running like that,” Mokoka admitted. “My decision to come and race Two Oceans was for the hills, as the Paris Marathon has more elevation than I’m used to. So we will see how the body responds when I get back into training.

“I went through the marathon in 2:25 after climbing Chapman’s Peak and in the wind, so that was pretty good training preparation,” Mokoka continued. “And I learned quite a bit about Ultra-marathon running. I couldn’t believe these guys chit chat the whole race!  You can see that they are used to this ultra-racing and to each other. Maybe when I get back to Two Oceans one day I can be competitive.”

With just over five minutes closing out the top ten positions and the gold medals in the men’s competition and the intense contests for supremacy in both the men’s and women’s races, the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon is up there with the world’s best ultras.

Once again, South Africa underlined its status as a global powerhouse in ultra-distance running and with five African countries represented among the men’s gold medallists and six from even further afield among the women, their wins are hard-fought and hard-won.