Kenyans dominate Absa Run Your City in Tshwane
Kenyans Salem Kibet and Doreen Cherop dominated the Absa Run Your City 10km in Tshwane, winning the men’s and women’s races on Sunday.
Kibet won the men’s race in 28:45, while Cherop was first in the women’s race in 31:35. South Africans Zenzile Pheko [28:55] and Glenrose Xaba [31:38] finished second in the men’s and women’s races.
Chris Mhlanga rounded off the men’s podium finish with a time of 28:46, while another Kenyan international, Deborah Chemutai, was third in the women’s race in 31:59.
After finishing second, Xaba was happy with her achievement and said this shows that she is in good shape, as she is preparing for the World Half Marathon Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark, on September 20.
“I’m excited; the competition was very high, but I’m glad that I was able to push and fight until the finish. It’s the 200m. I realised that I have more energy to close the gap, but it was too late,” Xaba told the media after the race.
“But I’m glad that I was able to give the competition, and she is faster than me because I had 31:12 and she had 30:43 in Durban, so to run this time at high altitude shows that I am in good shape.
“The course is challenging but very fast. I’m very happy that I was able to run. Last week I was running on the hills, and I think it is getting a bit of an impact, but I’m not worried about the win or what. I’m glad that I was able to finish in position two and enter the competition. This shows that I’m on track with my preparations for the World Championships.
“I’m looking forward to achieving my goals at the World Half Marathon Championships.”
Cherop was pleased with back-to-back wins after winning the race in Durban in July.
“I trust my training, so when it comes to running the race, it is easy because I train hard. My body was not good, and I didn’t expect to win, but I’m happy with my achievement.
About 10,000 runners, including Comrades Marathon Up Run champion George Kusche and Tete Dijana, took to the streets of Tshwane in what was a challenging course.
5News aggregated this summary from the outlet’s public feed. The full article, with all the context, is on www.sowetanlive.co.za — the content belongs to Sowetan.
