Sport

Comrades 2010: the top contenders

26 May 2010

The 2010 edition of South Africa's famous ultra-marathon, taking place on Sunday, promises an interesting contest, with a field that is arguably the most competitive in the history of the event.

Mr Price

For a long time one of the strongest teams, the Mr Price line-up boasts a number of runners with impressive Comrades Marathon pedigrees, which marks them as potential winners and possible top 10 finishers for the 2010 race.

Bongmusa Mthembu, seventh in 2009, and Charles Tjiane, third last year, are two rising stars that could top that list.

Mthembu has had a relatively quiet year, although he finished second in the Nongoma Marathon and has won various distance races in KZN. Tjiane has shown dramatic improvement over the last two years: after finishing 38th in the 2008 Comrades Marathon, he came 3rd in 2009. He also finished 13th in the 2010 Two Oceans Marathon and 13th in the Om Die Dam Marathon.

Other consistent performers over recent years includes 2003 champion Fusi Nhlapo, who has finished in the top 10 in his last eight Comrades Marathons. Sipho Ngomane, the winner of the 2005 Comrades Marathon; Mncedisi Mkhize, who has finished in the top 10 in the last four editions of the race; Frans Khangela Chauke; Marco Mambo; and Prodigal Khumalo.

Mambo has proved his pedigree in the Two Oceans Marathon, run over 56 kilometres, by winning in 2004, 2005, and 2008. Khumalo led the Comrades early on in 2009 and surprisingly held on pretty well to finish in six hours and one minute.

The leading contenders in the women's category are clearly the Nurgalieva twins from Russia.

Elena, the winner of the 2003, 2004, 2006 and 2008 Comrades Marathons, finished second in the 2010 Two Oceans Marathon earlier this year. Her sister, Olesya, the winner of the 2009 Comrades Marathon, was victorious in the Two Oceans Marathon.

They have dominated the Comrades Marathon in the last decade and the expectations are that they will lead they way again this year.

Anna Pichtrova, the winner of the World Mountain Running Championship for the past three years, and Riana van Niekerk, the winner of the 2010 Loskop Marathon, will be hoping to break the stronghold of the Russian twins.

Nedbank

The Nedbank team includes a number of potential top 10 finishers in Lucas Nonyana, Harmans Mokgadi, Peter Molapo, Josiah Thugwane and Frans Kutu.

While they are relatively new to the Comrades scene, they are all eager to make their mark in the 2010 race. Thugwane is the best known of them, having won the Olympic Marathon in Atlanta in 1996.

Nedbank also has a very strong women's contingent with Adinda Kruger, Berdine Smit, Kashmira Parbhoo and Lesley Train all among the contenders for a top 10 finish. With depth in numbers, Nedbank has the ability to claim the women's team prize.

Pietermaritzburg-based Kerry Koen who has finished in 11th place in 2009 will carry the flag for KwaZulu-Natal in the women's race, while Irina Vishneyskaya of Russia is an excellent runner with a proven marathon track record and could be one of the surprise packages on the day.

Bonitas

Bonitas Running Club, which is in its third year of existence, has secured the talents of Belinda Waghorn, a gold medal winner in 2009. Since her strong showing in last year's Comrades, she has performed consistently and recorded a number of victories.

Farwa Mentoor, a legend of South African women's road running, has performed at the highest level year-in and year-out. She is an established Comrades Marathon runner, consistently finishing in the top 10 and was the top South African performer for six years in succession, from 2002 to 2007.

The top men's contenders from Bonitas include Simon Peu, a classy runner who cruised to victory in the 2008 Pick 'n Pay Marathon. He also surprised the punters when he finished third in the 2008 Two Oceans Marathon.

Bethuel Netshefefhe is another top challenger from Bonitas who is tipped to finish strongly in 2010. He finished ninth in the 2009 Comrades Marathon and was the 2007 Two Oceans Marathon champion.

Netshefefhe also has a great turn of speed, which has seen him represent South Africa at the World Half Marathon Championships in Mexico and the 2007 Marathon Championships in Japan.

Brian Zondi, the runner up in the 2006 Comrades Marathon, is determined to go all out for victory in the 85th edition of the race. Since his near-win in 2006, he has struggled to perform up to his potential, but has now promised the South African public a much improved performance in the celebratory 2010 race.

Formula 1 Bluff Meats Athletics Club

The Formula 1 Bluff Meats Athletics Club holds the trump card in current Comrades Marathon Champion Stephen Muzhingi. The Zimbabwean has prepared well for this year's race with a solid fourth place at the 2010 Two Oceans Marathon.

Collin Makaza, Muzhingi's pacemaker in 2009 and a 2:15 marathon runner, finished in 11th position at Two Oceans this year and is a good bet for a top 10 placing in the Comrades. During the 2009 race, he was the first man through half way.

Another signing for Formula 1 is Shingari Badza. A seasoned campaigner with victories in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, he bears watching.

Team Toyota

A new team in 2010, Team Toyota has come into Comrades with the vision of growing the professional aspect of their team over the next three years.

The line-up includes a number of previous Comrades gold medalists and includes runners like Andrew Kelehe, the 2001 winner and a 10-time gold medallist. He will also feature as part of the Comrades Legends Project in this year's race alongside other former Comrades winners, to raise money for the Comrades charities.

Other runnerw that could pose a challenge are Gift Kelehe, the younger brother of Andrew, White Modisenyane and Dan Leburu, who has a strong background in track running with a 10-kilometre time of 28.50.

Frans Chauke, a former Two Oceans and Comrades Marathon gold medalist has joined the squad with new objectives, better training and a fresh determination to achieve. Fanie Mashipa, a sub 2:20 marathoner has spent many hours in the mountains preparing for the race and looks in good shape.

Other competitors in the team include the likes of Lukas Raseruthe, Joseph Maermann, Drew Fischer and William Mokwalakwala.

The lone women's contender in the elite Toyota group is two-time Comrades Marathon gold medallist Lindsay van Aswegen.

John Hamlett, one of the most successful Comrades coaches, has been appointed by Toyota to train the impressive squad of runners.

SAinfo reporter