Ngamole states case for Olympic team
Coolboy Ngamole made a strong bid for the country's Olympic Games squad on Sunday, setting his second qualifying time to win the SA Marathon Championships in George.
Ngamole, who won the SA title in 2010 and was second last year, crossed the line nearly two minutes clear of second-placed Michael Mazibuko in two hours, 13 minutes, 18 seconds (2:13:18).
Having clocked 2:10:43 in Valencia in November, Ngamole again ran under the 2:15:00 A-standard at the Olympic qualifying event to entrench himself in pole position in the race for a spot on the London Games team.
Mazibuko, the Soweto Marathon champion, finished in 2:15:12 and Zolani Ntongana secured bronze in 2:16:50.
Charne Bosman, meanwhile, defended her women's title, though she missed the Olympic A-standard by nearly five minutes, winning in 2:41:56.
Mpho Mabuza was second in 2:43:29 and Gladys Lukhwareni finished third in 2:48:25.
Elias Mabane pocketed the men's veteran title in 2:22:39, winning a closely contested race in the 40-49 age group.
Butiki Jantjies was second in 2:23:17, and SA senior record holder Gert Thys bagged the bronze medal in 2:23:33. Now 40, Thys clocked 2:06:33 to win the Tokyo Marathon in 1999, and was the first man to run under 2:08:00 three times.
He won a long-running battle against a doping suspension in January, after testing positive for norandrosterone in 2006.
Thys was cleared by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CSA), only three weeks before the national championships, after the CAS found his “due process rights were seemingly being ignored” in South Africa.
Jane Modau won the national women's veteran title in George in 3:08:25.