Posted: June 17, 2005

Athletics: Youngster Ngomane, Russian Women Win Comrades

From David Monti

© 2005 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved RaceResultsWeekly.com

By Riel Hauman

It was a case of déjà vu in the Comrades: a South African man won, the same three women finished in the top positions (albeit in reverse order from 2003), and Farwa Mentoor was the first South African woman. But there was plenty of drama, surprises, and lost hopes.

Sipho Ngomane, second in the Two Oceans over Easter, went one better to blow away his rivals with a consummate performance and the fifth-fastest time in the history of the race (5:27:10). At 23 he is one of the youngest winners ever, but alarm bells must sound about his prodigious racing schedule.

Elena Nurgalieva, previously undefeated in South African ultras, was beaten not only by Tatyana Zhirkova but also by twin sister Olesya. Elena was slowed by a leg injury picked up early in the race which caused her to succumb to Zhirkova’s pressure on Cowie’s Hill, the last major climb of the route.

The South African men acquitted themselves well, with seven in the top ten, but there were only three women among the gold medalists [NOTE: A gold medalist is a top-10 finisher --Ed.]: Mentoor (4th), Yolande Maclean (8th) and Lindsay van Aswegen (10th). The others were all Russians. Only once before have South African women done worse – in 2003, when there were only two in the top ten.

Vladimir Kotov, winner of the last three “up” runs, again failed to win the “down” run. At one stage he was completely out of the golds, but came back with his usual storming run to finish fourth in 5:33:59 – a remarkable run for a 47-year-old. One place ahead of him was former down run winner Andrew Kelehle, winning his ninth gold medal. Defending champion Fusi Nhlapo had a tough day because of an inury, but still finished fifth.

Oleg Kharitonov repeated his second place of the last down run, also running under 5½ hours. He finished much faster than Ngomane over the last 10 km, but was too far back to catch the winner.

After Themba Lamane took the early lead, the race started to take shape at the first “hot spot” (with a R5000 - $750 - incentive) at Umlaas Road, at 870 metres the higest point on the course (19 km). Lamane was joined by Andrias Masoeu and Kleinbooi Kekana, but after 2:20 on the clock Masoeu forged ahead alone.

At that stage a huge pack with all the main contenders was about 5 minutes behind. Masoeu took the second hot spot at halfway (R10000 - $1500) in 2:38:56, with Lamane 4:47 behind. Lamane started walking immediately afterwards. Thabiso Mahoto came next, followed by Elias Mabaso and Kekana.

The main bunch was now exactly 10½ minutes in arrears, but trundled along unperturbedly behind pack leader Jaroslaw Janicki. Kotov was there, as were Nhlapo, Joseph Ikaneng, Sarel Ackermann, Frans Chauke, Kharitonov, Kelehe, Willie Mtolo and Sam Flathela. And, hidden among the big names, the slight figure of Ngomane.

But then, climbing out of Drummond at the halfway mark, Janicki, winner of the 1999 down run, had had enough. He accelerated, taking Flathela with him.

This shook up the pack, shedding a number of hopefuls, and the gap to Masoeu started dwindling. With 3 hours gone and the lead down to a manageable 3:20, Ngomane came up with his own surge and quickly assumed second.

Behind him, surprisingly, Kotov had been dropped by the group, in which especially Ackermann, Janicki, Kharitonov and Kelehe looked menacing.

With the clock reading 3:29:30 Ngomane stormed past Masoeu, flying in the face of the Fordyce Doctrine: Take the lead as late as possible. But Ngomane had his own ideas, and none of his rivals would see him again.

Six minutes later the order behind him was Masoeu, Elias Mabane, Sipho Maisela and Jabulani Mabaso. Less than two minutes later Mabane went into second. Behind the first five the real racing had begun as the top contenders started testing one another. Claude Moshiywa pulled into third just before 4 hours, followed by Kharitonov and Kelehe together, then Janicki, Emerson Kayana, Masoeu and Zamile Gebashe.

Moshiywa began to chase Mabane in earnest and at 4:13:30 he assumed second, but he was more than 4 minutes behind Ngomane. Ngomane grabbed the biggest hot spot, at the top of the 2.1 km long Cowie’s Hill at 71 km – but the R15,000 ($2250) was a mere trifle in comparison to what he would win an hour or so later.

Moshiywa was now 4:07 behind, with Kharitonov and Kelehe waging a titanic struggle 4:35 behind Ngomane in third and fourth. Kharitonov had been grimly trying to get rid of the South African, but the impassive Kelehe clung to him – sometimes 10, 20 metres behind, sometimes a stride behind. It was one of those battles over the unforgiving, rolling terrain that have become legendary in Comrades lore. They knew that there was a slim chance that one of them could still win, and neither was prepared to give an inch.

Janicki was fifth, a further 1:17 back, then came Mabane and in seventh was a resurgent Kotov, who was cutting the lead up every incline. But he was more than 6½ minutes behind the Ngomane.

At 4:33 the two K’s went into second and third: Kharitonov, with a white cap and sunglasses over his eyes, grimacing but keeping his rhythm, and Kelehe, with his sunglasses perched on top of his forehead, staying expressionless behind him.

At 4:45 Kotov had pulled himself into fifth and it looked like 2001 all over again. But, as in 2001, he had left it too late. Moshiywa was clinging to fourth, Janicki was sixth, Mabane seventh and Nhlapo eighth. Rounding out the gold medal positions were Mohala Mohloli, who won his first gold medal in 1993, and Johan Oosthuizen.

With the 5-hour mark four minutes away, Kharitonov at last succeeded in dropping Kelehe. He was 3½ minutes behind Ngomane, but he was still not prepared to give up. He was charging in a desperate chase, and 15 minutes later he had cut the gap to 3:05.

Up ahead Ngomane was slowing and over the next 2 km Kharitonov slashed a further 30 seconds from his lead.

He was to gain another 30 seconds over the last 2 km (which took Ngomane 9:39), but that was all. He finished 2:05 behind.

With overexcited spectators again pressing into the road towards the end, there were some anxious moments for both Ngomane and Kharitonov, but the crowd control was slightly better than in 2003 when Nhlapo was in real danger at times, especially when a policeman’s nervous horse jumped in front of him.

Only four men have ever run faster than Ngomane: course record holder Bruce Fordyce with 5:24:07 (1986), Kelehe with 5:25:51 (2001), Bob de la Motte with 5:26:12 (1986) and Leonid Shvetsov with 5:26:28 (2001).

There have only been four younger winners than Ngomane: Phil Masterton-Smith (19) in 1931, Hardy Ballington (20) in 1933, Wally Hayward (21) in 1930 and Dave Levick (23 and 6 days) in 1973. Ngomane’s win came 5 months and 2 days after his 23rd birthday. (When Hayward won in 1954 he also became the oldest winner, at almost 46 years.)

South African men have now won the last three down runs, but the up run not since 1992.

Ngomane, who lives outside Nelspruit and was recently chased away from the KaNyamazane track because his running “was damaging the grass”, said he decided to make his move at 58 km “because the other guys were running too slowly”. He admitted that he was young (for the Comrades), “but I decided to take a chance”.

His time for the first half was 2:48:14 and for the second, easier, half 2:38:56. In his only previous Comrades, the 2003 down run, he finished 389th in 7:14:15.

One only hopes that he will be better managed in future than he has so far this year. It will be sad if a talent such as his goes to waste. He was second in the SA Marathon in February, a month later won the downhill Elands Valley Marathon in 2:14:06, a week later finished second in the Two Oceans ultramarathon and in early May won the Jock of the Bushveld ultramarathon.

Mtolo’s hopes of winning the race in which he has been second twice were dashed by a knee injury and he dropped out at halfway.

In the women’s race national marathon champion Dimakatso Morobi took the lead from the start and led for the first 90 minutes, when the Nurgalievas and Zhirkova took over. Morobi would fail to finish, but the three Russians controlled the race together until Cowie’s Hill. They passed the halfway mark in 3:01:40 with a sizeable lead over Mentoor, Marina Bychkova, 2001 winner Elvira Kolpakova (who later ran without shoes for a while), newcomer Marina Myshlyanova, Maclean, Tatyana Titova and Dagmar Rabensteiner.

At 4:40 Olesya Nurgalieva fell behind her sister and Zhirkova, but 11 minutes later Elena suddenly slowed to a walk up Cowie’s Hill. Grabbing the opportunity, Zhirkova was away. The race was hers, but behind her the two sisters ran together for a while. It was clear, though, that this was not be Elena’s day and she had to let her sibling go. It was her first loss in five South African ultras.

Zhirkova, the world 100 km champion, reached the finish in 5:58:50, only the third woman to go through the 6-hour barrier. Those faster than her are Frith van der Merwe, who set the course record of 5:54:43 in 1989, and Ann Trason, who ran 5:58:25 in 1997.

Mentoor, who had hoped for a higher position but suffered from cramps in the last 15 km, came fourth in 6:19:20 – the first South African for the fourth year in a row. Bychkova, second to Zhirkova in the World 100 km, has never been lower than sixth in her seven Comrades runs.

Van der Merwe did not do nearly as well as anticipated, finishing 50th in 7:59:17.

Fordyce was 2310th in 8:45:20 for his 23rd medal – his fastest time since 2000.

Comrades Marathon (80th) - Pietermaritzburg to Durban, RSA; Thursday, June 16

Distance: 89.17 km. Certified point-to-point downhill course, dropping from 670 m to zero, but very hilly. Highest point: 870 m. Weather: cold at start (5 °C), warming up later.

NOTE: All runners RSA unless indicated otherwise. Men and women receive equal prize money. Prize money in SA Rand (R1 = $0.15) --Ed.

MEN - 
 1. Sipho Ngomane        5:27:10 R200,000
 2. Oleg Kharitonov (RUS)        5:29:15 100,000
 3. Andrew Kelehe, 40        5:31:44 75,000
 4. Vladimir Kotov (47/BLR), 47        5:33:59 40,000
 5. Fusi Nhlapo        5:39:01 30,000
 6. Mohala Mohloli (LES), 44        5:40:18 18,000
 7. Johan Oosthuizen        5:40:57 16,000
 8. Claude Moshiywa        5:42:22 14,000
 9. Elias Mabane        5:46:20 12,000
10. Albe Geldenhuys        5:46:37 10,000
11. Mabule Raphotle        5:49:01
12. Sarel Ackermann        5:51:49
13. Moyahabo Malatji        5:52:02
14. Nkosy Dladla        5:52:15
15. Jabulani Mabaso        5:52:50
16. Sipho Maisela        5:53:03
17. Mpho Mokgonami        5:54:14
18. Godfrey Sesenyamotse        5:54:36
19. Joseph Ikaneng        5:55:39
20. Peterson Khumalo        5:56:42
21. Michael Scout, 42        5:57:19
22. Jaroslaw Janicki (POL)        5:58:10
23. Sipho Dlamini        5:58:30
24. Ruben Setumu        5:59:10
25. Peter Camenzind (SUI)        5:59:39
26. Victor Ngubelanga        5:59:43
27. Ephraim Malaza        6:00:02
28. Lucas Matlala        6:01:49
29. Charles Van Der Walt        6:01:56
30. Frans Chauke        6:02:08
31. Joseph Molaba        6:03:20
32. Walter Nkosi        6:03:44
33. Richard Dlamini        6:04:19
34. Emerson Kayana        6:04:40
35. Philani Memela        6:05:29
36. Michael Mpotoane        6:05:55
37. Harmans Mokgadi        6:06:00
38. Mbuyiseli Mema        6:06:41
39. Andrias Masoeu        6:07:05 
40. Mncedisi Mkhize        6:07:21
41. Andries Boom, 44        6:08:09
42. Sontaga Moyo        6:08:25
43. Christopher Mabengeza        6:08:28
44. Saoana Ntlou        6:08:42
45. Herbert Mazongolo        6:09:31
46. William Mokwalakwala        6:09:47
47. Themba Phulu (ZIM), 45         6:10:29
48. Ian Bailey, 44        6:12:34
49. Thabani Mashumi        6:13:24
50. Abednego Mosiathla        6:13:48
… 58. Zamile Gebashe 6:19:09
… 91. Graham Meyer 6:33:23
… 97. Johannes Kekana 6:34:51 
DNF: Willie Mtolo (halfway)

WOMEN - 
 1. Tatiana Zhirkova (RUS)        5:58:50
 2. Olesya Nurgalieva (RUS)        6:10:39
 3. Elena Nurgalieva (RUS)        6:12:18
 4. Farwa Mentoor        6:19:20
 5. Marina Bychkova (RUS)        6:19:29
 6. Marina Myshlyanova (RUS)        6:28:49
 7. Elvira Kolpakova (RUS)        6:34:45
 8. Yolande Maclean        6:37:35
 9. Tatyana Titova (RUS)        6:43:16
10. Lindsay Van Aswegen        7:04:33
11. Mene Olivier        7:05:16
12. Heleen Joubert        7:05:29
13. Grace De Oliveira, 43        7:05:54
14. Dagmar Rabensteiner (42, AUT)         7:07:53
15. Adinda Kruger        7:08:40
16. Riana Van Niekerk        7:15:50
17. Celeste Swart        7:17:37
18. Louise Oosthuizen, 42        7:18:48
19. Renee Scott, 43        7:19:38
20. Johanna Claassen        7:19:45
21. Lelanie Van Zyl, 40        7:20:46
22. Amor Van Zyl, 48        7:22:54
23. Tilda Krugmann, 46        7:25:57
24. Blanche Moila, 48        7:27:26
25. Styntjie Prins, 51        7:28:44
26. Davera Magson        7:29:29
27. Janet Van Veijeren        7:36:04
28. Lizette Muller        7:37:54
29. Angelique Nel, 42        7:38:00
30. Nancy Will, 52        7:39:18
31. Cecelia Meyer        7:39:25
32. Julie Shadwell, 43        7:40:48
33. Rachel Shuttleworth        7:41:24
34. Karen Bradford, 46        7:42:39
35. Elsabe Cronje        7:44:00
36. Natalie Unstead        7:46:51
37. Tammy Kelly        7:47:07
38. Madeleen Otto        7:47:35
39. Ellen McCurtin (USA)        7:48:04
40. Anita Jacobs        7:48:45
41. Rentia Denissen        7:50:19
42. Katherine Wiseman        7:51:20
43. Ronel Du Plessis        7:52:59
44. Salome Brits        7:53:19
45. Machelle Bothma        7:53:45
46. Sylvie Harris        7:54:13
47. Maryke Funk        7:57:15
48. Ingrid Prinsloo        7:57:20
49. Berdine Smit        7:58:59
50. Frith Van Der Merwe, 41        7:59:17
… 57. Michelle Stewart 8:03:00
… 89. Jenny Allebone, 61, 8:23:59