Mapaseka Makhanya
Event: Women’s Long Distances Date of birth: 1985/04/09 Personal bests: 800m (2:03.36),...
Versatile road runner Mapaseka Makhanya was satisfied with her performance after smashing her personal best in her first international 42km race.
Makhanya had hoped to dip under the 2:30 barrier at the Hannover Marathon on Sunday, and while she crossed the line in 2:31:02, she shattered her career record of 2:36:36 set at last year’s Gauteng Marathon.
“There’s no use crying over spilt milk,” she said.
“I’m happy and a very good lesson was learned.”
The 30-year-old athlete took third place in Hannover, less than four minutes behind Algeria’s Souad Alt Salem, who won the race in 2:27:21.
Her performance lifted Makhanya to fifth place in the all-time SA rankings.
Only Colleen de Reuck, Elana Meyer, Frith van der Merwe and Rene Kalmer have run faster.