Mapaseka Makhanya
Event: Women’s Long Distances Date of birth: 1985/04/09 Personal bests: 800m (2:03.36),...
Riana van Niekerk made history on Saturday, becoming the first athlete to bag seven titles at the Om die Dam ultra-marathon.
Van Niekerk, a four-time Comrades Marathon gold medallist, won the women’s race at the annual 50km event in Hartbeespoort in 3:30:07.
The 38-year-old runner improved the previous record of six victories she shared with Helene Joubert.
Emmerentia Rautenbach finished second, more than three minutes behind in 3:33:35, and former champion Lizih Chokore of Zimbabwe settled for third place in 3:40:43.
William Mokwalakwa defended his title in the men’s race, securing victory in 2:57:59 on the newly designed route, well clear of Zimbabwean Felix Mushurwa who took second place in 3:01:05.
Eliya Mogoboya took third position, a further 35 seconds off the pace.
Coolboy Ngamole won the men’s half-marathon race in 1:09:39 and Catherine Skhosana bagged the women’s title in 1:25:30.
* See full results in our Results section