JOHANNESBURG – Defending champion Stephen Mokoka raced into the history books on Sunday by becoming the first man to win four Shanghai Marathon titles.
The South African claimed his fourth title in his seventh consecutive year when lining up in the 42.2-kilometre race clocking a time of two hours, 08.35 minutes (2:08.35).
He crossed the line just three seconds ahead of Kenyan Ernest Kiprono Ngeno and his compatriot Asbel Kipsang, who completed the podium in third place with 2:09.02.
It is the second time Mokoka has won back-to-back Shanghai Marathon titles including victories in 2013 and 2014.
He boasts two second-place finishes with only one position outside of a podium with his fourth place on debut back in 2011.
The 32-year-old finished just 55 seconds short of his personal best of 2:07:40 from the 2015 Shanghai Marathon where he finished as runner-up.
His personal best is only 67 seconds slower than Gert Thys’ South African record of 2:06:33.