Matsipa must remain patient - Hamlett
Fanie Matshipa should not be too hard on himself for not winning the Comrades Marathon on Sunday because his time will undoubtedly come in the in the next few years, coach John Hamlett has predicted.
The 33-year-old ended the 86th edition of the race from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in a credible second place, crossing the line as the first South African in a time of 5:34.29 – just under two minutes behind winner Stephen Muzhingi from Zimbabwe.
Matshipa, a miner from Limpopo, was taking part in the race for just the fourth time in his career. His previous three appearances saw him finish in 18th in 2006 and fourth last year, while in 2008 he failed to finish.
"I think he had a great race, but the best man won to be honest," Hamlett said.
"Fanie was with Stephen all the way until the bottom of Pollys (Polly Shortts) but just couldn't keep up.
"I think inexperience has sort of slowed him down today.
"I think if he had the experience of winning like Muzhingi has, he would have been able to do a lot more.
"But in all fairness he ran a terrific race, he was disciplined and in the end just came up short.
"He has many years to come and hopefully he'll win next year. The Comrades is an unforgiving race and anyone of the top three can win on the day."
Matshipa himself is a man of few words, but with the little he said, explained that his non-victory was down to feeling unwell prior to the start in Durban.
He vowed to win the race next year.
"I'm really happy with my run.
"I came here to win the race, but unfortunately 10 kilometres in my body felt weak.
"So I tried to relax thereafter and slowed down.
That all came after I felt sick prior to the race, which was a setback. From there I tried catching him but I couldn't, so I sat back slightly.
"When I saw my position coming towards the end, I decided to push myself again. I tried hard until Polly Shorts, but after that I felt it was too much so I was satisfied with ending second."
The man from Steelpoort, which is close to Lydenburg and Burgersfort in the Limpopo province, runs for the Steelpoort Athletic Club, where he works on the town's mine.
During his earlier years several of his training regimes would even be held under the ground, but these days he works as a smelter.
He admitted to being "very proud" for ending the race as the first South African and vowed to come back and win next year.
And his coach Hamlett, who boldly predicted before the race that Matshipa would be the winner, had no doubt.
Asked where his confidence stemmed from, he added: "He's been training extremely hard and I saw that this man was supremely fit.
"Next year it will again be between these two guys and I'm sure he'll be the man to break the South African duck."