Cape Town – Stephen Mokoka won the Old Mutual Two Oceans half marathon in one hour three minutes 36 seconds,pulling the top seven under the record for the course first run in 2012.
Mokoka was content to trail at the back of the large lead group, which was split apart on the steep Southern Cross Drive climb. Only Lushapo April and Joel Mmone remained as they hit the grass at UCT, but the Gauteng North athlete put his foot to the floor and outsprinted them to the finish.
April was a mere four seconds adrift, with Mmone, who is better known for his Cross Country, completing the podium in 1:03:45.
Ethiopian Biru Meseret Mengistu looked to be a different class in the ladies race. Although she had a lead of only 20 metres at 7km, the Nedbank International runner left the best of the South Africans in her wake as she crashed through the line in one hour 12 minutes 43 seconds, almost 600m clear of Rene Kalmer.
Kalmer who was using the event as a final preparation for an assault on the Boston Marathon finished in 1:14:45, with Irvette van Zyl third in 1:15:20. –Sapa