Marathoners wilt in the Budapest heat as Victor and Amane take gold

African athletes dominated the men’s and women’s marathons on the last two days of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest over the weekend, with Ethiopian and Ugandan athletes racing strongly in conditions far from conducive to distance racing.

Kenya and Ethiopia finished 5^th and 6^th respectively on the overall championship medals table, winning three and two gold medals and ten and nine total medals.

The athletics stadium in Budapest, Photo – courtesy World Athletics

The world’s best marathoners competed in a stacked field in the women’s race, where Ethiopia reigned supreme. Two hrs 14 min marathoner, Amane Beriso Shankule, raced clear of the all-Ethiopian lead group of three in the final quarter to record to an impressive victory in 2:24:23, 11 seconds ahead of her compatriot and title defender, Gotytom Gebreslase.

Moroccan Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi sprang a major surprise by taking bronze ahead of seasoned campaigner, Lona Saltpeter of Israel, with the third Ethiopian, Yalemzerf Yehualaw, finishing fifth following a near-collapse in the final stages of the race.

Several big-name marathoners were absent from the men’s marathon, where Ugandan athletes were to the fore, none more so than Victor Kiplangat who won by 19 seconds in 2:08:53 ahead of Israel’s Maru Teferi Israel.

Melikhaya Frans – up with race leaders Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and Joshua Belet of Kenya in the early stages. None of the three completed the marathon. Photo – Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images

Ethiopian Leul Gebresilase took fourth in 2:09:19, with Lesotho athlete and winner of last year’s Durban International Marathon in South Africa, Tebello Ramakongoana, recording an outstanding personal best time of 2:09:57 for fourth, 25 seconds ahead of the second Ugandan Stephen Kissa.

The Lesotho athlete proved a revelation and was one of the very few athletes to record a best marathon time in the challenging conditions which prevailed, his effort 13 seconds faster than his winning time in Durban last year.

African athletes claimed four of the top five positions in both the women’s and men’s marathons and eight and seven of the top ten positions respectively.

The warm and humid conditions which prevailed during the nine days of competition proved particularly severe on the marathoners, with both races finishing in temperatures well over 25 degrees Celsius.

It appeared that athletes who prepared specifically for the conditions and planned conservative race strategies prevailed while others who adopted more aggressive tactics struggled and delivered below-par performances.

Melikhaya Frans – carried South African hopes. Photo – Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images

Generally, athletes from the southern hemisphere, such as South Africa, Australia and Argentina, who had travelled from the cold climes of winter to a warm European summer found the going particularly tough and the strategy of arriving earlier to acclimatize appeared to backfire badly.

Kenya, who have long reigned supreme in distance running, had a marathon championship to forget, with their top two women, Rosemary Wanjiru and Sally Kaptich, finishing 6^th and 7^th. They also performed well below par in the men’s marathon, with their top two, Titus Kipruto and Timonthy Kiplagat finishing 8^th and 14^th respectively.

But if Kenya were disappointing, South Africa were more so. It appeared that their athletes were not prepared for the conditions and finished well down the field, if at all.

Irvette van Zyl stayed close behind the lead pack in the early stages but dropped down the field to finish courageously in 45^th in 2:38:42, while Cape Town-based Zimbabwean, Fortunate Chidzivo, finished five minutes and ten places further back.

Melikhaya Frans – a bridge too far. Photo – Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images

South African hopes had been on Melikhaya Frans for a top placing in the men’s marathon, but the Eastern Cape athlete could not cope with the conditions, forced to drop out after 30km, seriously dehydrated and in need of medical attention. Equally exhausted, Tumelo Motlagale and Simon Sibeko battled on to the finish, earning 51^st and 60^th places respectively.

Motlagale raced well for much of the race and finished in a creditable (given the conditions) 2:22:14,  in a time 11 minutes outside his best, while Sibeko was almost 20 minutes outside his fastest in 2:31:59.

Tumelo Motlagale – first South African home. Photo – Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images

“The extreme conditions took us by surprise,” South Africa’s marathon coach, Michael Mbambani admitted. “The heat and humidity were way too extreme. It’s unheard of for an athlete to finish a marathon in 28 degrees.

“In hindsight the athletes, including Ramakongoana, who arrived relatively late at the championships benefited enormously. They only arrived on the Thursday before the race. We arrived two weeks before race day and the athletes simply wilted in the grueling heat. There was not enough time to adapt to the heat but the period was too long for the athletes.

Simon Sibeko – struggled in the Hungarian Heat. Photo – Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images

“The pace of the race was never a problem. The leaders went through halfway in around 65 minutes and didn’t speed up that much in the second half. Our athletes could have coped with that pace.

“We had a debrief with the marathon team afterwards and everyone said the same – they found the two weeks in the heat of Budapest tiring and struggled to adapt.

“I met the Kenyan coach, Patrick Sang (Eliud Kipchoge’s coach), who said that Kenya does get hot days, but not like it was in Budapest. He said their team also struggled. They also struggled in the middle-distance races on the track – they complained they could not sleep at night because of the heat.”

“The Ethiopians did well in both marathon races – they seemed to have prepared better for the conditions.”

Ramakongoana’s coach, James McKirdy, was over the moon. “Tebello is fit for a 2:05 to 2:06 marathon. His race in Durban was run in terrible weather, but we knew based on his 60:35 in Nelson Mandela Bay that he had a strong fitness for a great marathon,” McKirdy said from Budapest.

Tebello Ramakongoana with the Lesotho flag as he races the final 100m of the marathon. Photo – Jane Monti

“Maybe, one day, he will run a great marathon on a good weather day… but for now, we are so thankful and proud of this amazing achievement. We had planned for a 2:10:30 race and top ten position and he surpassed that goal.”

Ramakongoana also arrived early, although not as early as the South Africans. “We arrived on the Saturday prior to the race (8 days before race day),” McKirdy continued. “It was incredibly important to be here in Budapest get used to the air, the food and other and to recover from travel.

McKirdy emphasized the importance of Ramakongoana running his own race and not try to race with the leaders. “My plan was simple for the race – ignore everyone else and run the race as a time trial with a focus on keeping at the back of the front pack.”

Keeping the body cool was a key strategy for Tebello Ramakongoana. Photo – Justin Britton

Tebello was 48^th in 15:39 after 5km and within 1 second of the planned schedule. But why didn’t the Lesotho athlete struggle in the second half like many of the others?

“Firstly, his mind didn’t wander. He was aware of the time and what he required at every station. Many of the early leaders only focused on getting their bottles. We focused on keeping his body cool with hats/ice packs as well as the bottles. Every 5km it was bottle, ice pack and ice cold hat to wear.

Tebello Ramakongoana relaxing in Budapest with coach James McKirdy prior to the race. Photo – James McKirdy

“Then Tebello ran steady and smooth, avoiding the early race surges – “championship style racing”. I knew that given conditions everyone would have a terrible experience if they matched the surges. It’s not that they started fast – they didn’t. But they would throw in surges, which used up valuable energy on warm and humid days.

“Tebello avoided the surges and ran his final full 5km from 35k to 40k in 15:00. He had so much energy in the back half of the race.”

Hendrick Ramaala was coach of the South African marathon team at the 2021 Olympics in Japan, where athletes also struggled in warm conditions.  He agrees that arriving in Budapest two weeks before the race was likely counter-productive.

Simon Sibeko – won last year’s national marathon championships in Durban but was no match for the stifling Budapest heat. Photo – Anton Geyser, South African Sports Images

“The advantage of having a race in Europe is that it’s in our time-zone, so arriving later avoids athletes having to wait around the race village for long periods, generally getting anxious and tired. If the race is in Asia or America, that’s different and one looks to arrive early to get over the jet-lag.

“If it is possible, it would be great for the athletes to go to a holding camp for some days before the Olympic race, preferably at altitude where it’s warm. St Moritz in Switzerland for example, or a village in the French Alps. There are such facilities all over Europe. 

“That’s what I did before I raced the Paris Marathon,” Ramaala added. “ And I arrived in Paris just a few days before the race. That worked well for me.”

Mbambani feels that Athletics South Africa should appoint an expert to investigate how to optimize training and preparation for marathons in hot and humid conditions as soon as possible, as similar conditions are likely to prevail at next year’s Paris Olympics.

“I think that is essential, otherwise we are wasting our time,” Mbambani said. “Possibly we could get assistance from sports institutes at our universities, such as Potchefstroom and Tuks (Pretoria). But we must find a way to improve our preparation.”

Results of World Athletics Championships, Marathon

Men

1 Victor Kiplangat Uganda 2:08:53; 2 Maru Teferi Israel 2:09:12; 3 Leul Gebresilase Ethiopia 2:09:19; 4 Tebello Ramakongoana Lesotho 2:09:57; 5 Stephen Kissa Uganda 2:10:22; 6 Milkesa Mengesha Ethiopia 2:10:43; 7 Hassan Chahdi France 2:10:45; 8 Titus Kipruto Kenya 2:10:47; 9 John Hakizimana Rwanda 2:10:50; 10 Daniele Meucci Italy 2:11:06

Selected African positions

14 Timothy Kiplagat Ken 2:11:25

16 Isaac Mpofu Zimb 2:11:33

17 Tsegaye Getachew Eth 2:11:56

25 Mohamed El Aaraby Morocco 2:13:55

33 Berhane Tekle Eritrea 2:16:08

37 Ngonidzashe Ncube Zimb 2:17:02

48 Goitom Kifle Eri 2:21:28

51 Tumelo Motlagale RSA 2:22:14;

60 Simon Sibeko RSA 2:31:59

Women

1 Amane Beriso Shankule Ethioipia 2:24:23; 2 Gotytom Gebreslase Ethiopia 2:24:34; 3 Fatima Ezzahra Gardadi Morocco 2:25:17; 4 Lonah Chemtai Salpeter Israel 2:25:38; 5 Yalemzerf Yehualaw Ethiopia 2:26:13; 6 Rosemary Wanjiru Kenya 2:26:42; 7 Sally Cheyego Kaptich Kenya 2:27:09; 8 Nazret Weldu Eritrea 2:27:23; 9 Lindsay Flanagan USA 2:27:47; 10 Dolshi Tesfu Eritrea 2:28:54

Selected African positions

14 Rebecca Cheptegei Uganda 2:29:34

18 Mercyline Chelangat Uganda 2:31:40

21 Doreen Chesang Uganda 2:32:11

25 Rkia El Moukim Morocco 2:33:54

45 Irvette van Zyl RSA 2:38:32

55 Fortunate Chidzivo 2:43:28