Cape Town - The biggest cheer of the day was reserved for South Africa’s Caroline Wöstmann who became the first local athlete to bag the ladies Two Oceans crown in 14 years in Cape Town on Saturday.
Hundreds of on-lookers gave the Wits School of Accountancy lecturer a rousing welcome as she entered the finish arena at the University of Cape Town, almost three minutes clear of the title holder Nina Podnebesnova of Russia, in the 56kms ultra-marathon race.
Several kilometres out, Wöstmann stunned the elite women’s field when she chased down the race-leader Podnebesnova after the halfway mark and then eased clear despite the prevailing wet and windy conditions for an historic victory in a time of 3:41:25.
Wöstmann said afterwards she had surprised herself by lifting the title.
“I did not expect this kind of outcome at all and I’m absolutely thrilled. I was hoping to finish at the back end of the top 10, so this is much better than I anticipated,” said Wöstmann.
“I feel absolutely over moon. I’m so happy.”
Wöstmann said later she needed to take a rest ahead of next month’s Comrades Marathon in Durban.
“I have heard that if you run the Two Oceans it takes a lot out of you if you’re doing the Comrades, so I’ll have a good rest and spend some time with the family,” she said. “I don’t even know what the prize money is but I’ll spend it on a holiday with the family.”
Podnebesnova secured a podium finish with a second place in 3:44:06, and South Africa’s Tanith Maxwell, a debutant, was third in 3:45:20.
In the men’s race, Lesotho’s Motlokoa Nkhabutlane was an emphatic winner as he coasted in well clear to annex the title.
Nkhabutlane, a second-place finisher in the 2011 race, won in 3:10:29.
He was followed home by Zimbabwean Collen Makaza in a time of 3:12:43.
There was place for another Lesotho runner on the podium when Nkhabutlane’s countryman Moeketsi Mosuhli ended third in 3:13:46.
ANA