Johannesburg - Versatile distance ace Stephen Mokoka has made the Shanghai Marathon his own by winning his third title in four years over the weekend.
Mokoka’s time of 2:10:18 was almost three minutes short of the personal best he posted at last year’s race where he finished in second place.
Kenya’s Abel Kipsang finished behind him in a time of 2:11:15, with Nigassa Abdi Fufa of Ethiopia taking third place in 2:13:29.
Mokoka, who won the race in 2013 and 2014, targeted a time between 2:07 and 2:10.
“It is my third time winning here so I am very happy even if the time is not very fast,” Mokoka told the IAAF website. “I took the lead in the last seven kilometres. The last half of the race was very difficult because it was hot but the first half was very good.”
Mokoka announced in September he would turn his focus on the 42km road event after years of swapping between the track and the road.
He made his debut over the classic distance at the Seoul Marathon in a time of 2:08:33 before he represented South Africa at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
There he finished the Olympic marathon in 49th place with a time 2:19:52.
Mokoka has raced Shanghai for six consecutive years, capitalising on his knowledge of the course, which earned him podium finishes in five of the races.
“I am still developing, I still want to make a gradual improvement in terms of the marathon and once I am used to the marathon programme then hopefully I can run faster,” Mokoka told The Star before the race.
“But for now, it is all about getting used to the feeling of the marathon because it is not easy to prepare for three months then race and not get the result.”
Last year Mokoka missed Gert Thys’ national record of 2:06:33 by 67 seconds, and he believes if he responded well to the change in training, he could get close to that mark in future.
“At the moment, the important thing is just to finish and hope for a specific time, but the SA record is too quick ... it is a 2:06 and you need to go at three minutes per km.”
Meanwhile, fellow South African Mapaseka Makhanya finished the women’s race in 12th with a time of 2:37:19.
@ockertde
The Star