Gerda Steyn extended her absolute dominance of South African women’s ultra-distance running, earning a record seventh successive victory, and debutant Arthur Jantjies stunned the elite men’s field to secure his maiden win at the Totalsports Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town on Saturday.
Steyn was not really challenged in the women’s 56km contest, opening a big gap and storming over the line in 3:27:43, less than a minute outside her own race record of 3:26:54 set in 2024.
Veteran Kenyan athlete Pamela Jepchumba, who won the City 2 City ultra-marathon and the Soweto Marathon in Gauteng last year, finished second on her Two Oceans debut in 3:33:31 after running so hard she was stretchered to the medical tent when she completed the race.
Nobukhosi Tshuma of Zimbabwe rounded off the podium, grabbing third spot in 3:38:34.
“It’s a team effort. I have so much support behind me and belief in me from an entire country, and today I ran with that in my heart, so I want to thank everyone for their support,” Steyn said afterwards.
Men’s race
Jantjies, who entered the race as a relatively unknown athlete with a standard marathon personal best of 2:19:42 set in Durban in 2024, broke away from a small lead group in the closing stages to take an impressive victory in 3:09:25.
Former winner Onalenna Khonkhobe faded on the hills in the chase for the line, but he held on for second place in 3:10:00, and Zimbabwean athlete Blessing Waison was third in 3:11:13.
“In my head I thought ‘let them do the work and run right behind them’ because I didn’t want to use too much energy before the finish and wanted to come through at the end,” Jantjies said.
“It worked out for me and it feels glorious… it was a great competition and I’m just happy.”
