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Comrades 2006: top contenders
12 June 2006
The top contenders for the 2006 Comrades Marathon, an "up run" from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, are evenly divided between South African and international athletes.
The world-famous ultra-marathon takes place on Friday, 16 June.
Missing from the women's field are two top competitors of recent years: three-time winner Maria Bak, 47, did not enter this year, while Olesya Nurgalieva, one of the Russian twins who have dominated the race for the past three years, has opted to concentrate on the standard marathon.
The Nurgalievas' tactics of running together were seen as intimidating to other competitors, and it will be interesting to see whether Olesya's absence has a significant impact on tactics in 2006.
The top eight female competitors
Elena Nurgalieva Twice a winner and the up-run record holder, the 30-year-old Mr Price athlete is the favourite for the women's title this year.
2003
1st, 6:07:46, down
2004 1st, 6:11:15, up, (record)
2005 3rd, 6:12:18, down
Farwa Mentoor The 33-year-old favourite among South African female competitors is the Harmony Gold GN athlete from Mitchell's Plain, who has been the first SA woman to finish for the past four years. In the 2004 up run she bravely challenged the Russian twins and in doing so dramatically improved her own best time.
2002 4th, 6:41:20, up
2003 8th, 6:32:37, down
2004 3rd, 6:18:28, up
2005 4th, 6:19:20, down
Tatyana Zhirkova Last year's winner has run only three Comrades Marathons, earning gold medals each time. The 35-year-old Russian athlete will be running in the colours of Harmony Gold. She is one of only three women, with Ann Trason and Frith van der Merwe, to have run Comrades in under six hours.
2003 3rd, 6:17:50, down
2004 5th, 6:28:02, up
2005 1st, 5:58:50,
down
Marina Bychkova Experience counts in Comrades and, although she is yet to crack a win, the 30-year-old Russian Mr Price athlete has earned gold medals in the last six Comrades.
1999 3rd, 6:36:34, down
2000 6th, 6:47:28, up
2001 4th, 6:24:20, down
2002 3rd, 6:24:23, up
2003 5th, 6:19:21, down
2004 2nd, 6:14:14, up
2005 5th, 6:19:29, down
Marina Myshlyanova In great Russian tradition, she burst into her first Comrades last year, earning a gold medal for her efforts. With experience under her belt, the Harmony Gold athlete will be looking to improve on her placing this year.
2005 6th, 6:28:49, down
Yolande Maclean This 28-year-old runner is to do her fourth Comrades Marathon for Mr Price CG, with three gold medals to her credit. Although once tipped to replace Frith van der Merwe, Maclean has yet to produce a top-five finish.
2003
9th, 6:44:39, down
2004 7th, 6:45:40, up
2005 8th, 6:37:35, down
Grace de Oliveira - The popular 44-year-old Mr Price CG athlete from KZN is a perennial Comrades gold medallist.
1999 2nd, 6:34:53, down
2000 3rd, 6:38:44, up
2001 7th, 6:41:04, down
2002 6th, 6:43:12, up
2003 11th, 7:00:00, down
2004 8th, 6:46:59, up
2005 13th, 7:05:54, down
Lyudmila Kalinina This Russian athlete will run her first Comrades in the colours of Harmony Gold.
The top 10 male competitors
Vladimir Kotov Even at the age of 48, the winner of the last three up runs must be regarded as favourite for the 2006 race. A Belarussian citizen and SA permanent resident, Kotov holds the up-run record and is definitely the man to beat. He will be running in the colours of Mr Price.
2000 1st, 5:25:33, up
2001 3rd, 5:27:21, down
2002 1st, 5:30:59,
up
2003 22nd, 5:57:03, down
2004 1st, 5:31:21, up
2005 4th, 5:33:59, down
Andrew Kelehe The most consistent performer of recent years has earned gold in the past nine Comrades Marathons. The 41-year-old police officer from Mafikeng has run 10 Comrades Marathons, each in less than six hours. His times indicate a preference for the down run, which only Bruce Fordyce has ever run faster. He will be running for Liberty Nike CG.
1996 30th, 5:58:29, up
1997 5th, 5:33:24, down
1998 6th, 5:39:40, up
1999 2nd, 5:32:42, down
2000 5th, 5:36:32, up
2001 1st, 5:25:51, down
2002 9th, 5:46:32, up
2003 5th, 5:35:18, down
2004 5th, 5:42:34, up
2005 3rd, 5:31:44, down
Fusi Nhlapo Injury forced the 2003 winner to miss out on the 2004 race, but this Mr Price athlete, aged 35, has his sights set on a second win. He's earned gold for all five of his races.
2000 6th,
5:37:46, up
2001 5th, 5:30:38, down
2002 10th, 5:46:59, up
2003 1st, 5:28:52, down
2005 5th, 5:39:01, down
Oleg Kharitonov The world record holder for 100 miles has already earned five Comrades gold medals. This strong 38-year-old Russian athlete will be running his sixth Comrades in the colours of Harmony Gold.
2001 12th, 5:40:14, down
2002 4th, 5:34:43, up
2003 2nd, 5:31:41, down
2004 3rd, 5:39:08, up
2005 2nd, 5:29:15, down
Jaroslaw Janicki The Polish runner was the surprise winner of the 1999 Comrades Marathon, and has a Comrades CV that shows a distinct preference for the down run. At 39, the Mr Price athlete will be competing for the eighth time in a race in which experience counts.
1997 3rd, 5:32:50, down
1999 1st, 5:30:10, down
2000 17th, 5:55:44, up
2002 16th, 5:57:16, up
2003 11th,
5:42:46, down
2004 2nd, 5:34:17, up
2005 22nd, 5:58:10, down
Willie Mtolo The sub-2:10 marathoner and former NY Marathon winner is a perennial favourite among spectators. Aged 42, he has waged epic battles for top honours in the last two up runs with Kotov, as well as back in 1989 when he finished second to Sam Tshabalala. A local KwaZulu-Natal hero, he would love to add Comrades Marathon winner to his list of achievements.
1989 2nd, 5:39:59, down
2002 2nd, 5:33:35, up
2003 8th, 5:41 29, down
2004 4th, 5:45:34, up
Sipho Ngomane This 24-year-old athlete was not only the surprise winner of the 2005 Comrades Marathon, but also the winner of the Young Runner Competition. Running for Harmony Gold, he has the potential to make a tremendous mark on the race if he can repeat last year's performance.
2005 1st, 5:27:10, down
Simon Hlonepha Mphulanyane - Running for Mr Price CG and a former
Two Oceans winner, he has a personal best of 2:10:56, set in the 1999 London Marathon, and with Mtolo is one of the two fastest men in the field.
2004 7th, 5:55:10, up
Johan Oosthuizen The 33-year-old Liberty Nike athlete ran himself into gold medal position for the first time on the last up run, having finished just outside the top 10 in the 2003 down run. He will be looking to improve on his ninth position.
2002 25th, 6:08:36, up
2003 14th, 5:49:09, down
2004 9th, 5:46:07, up
2005 7th, 5:40:57, down
Albe Geldenhuys Consistently in the top 20, the 30-year-old Harmony Gold GN athlete has twice clinched gold, in 2002 and 2005.
1998 13th, 5:49:21, up
1999 13th, 5:52:01, down
2000 12th, 5:47:46, up
2001 20th, 5:54:07, down
2002 6th, 5:39:45, up
2003 15th, 5:51:46, down
2005 10th, 5:46:37, down
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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2004 Comrades Marathon Up Run winners: Vladimir Kotov and Elena Nurgalieva |
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