Latest news with #KabeloMulaudzi
News24
3 days ago
- Sport
- News24
Mulaudzi cruises to Durban victory in personal best time
Rajesh Jantilal Despite a strong challenge from defending champion Elroy Gelant and Kenya's Vincent Kipkorir, Mulaudzi timed his race perfectly to take victory with ease. With two events remaining in the series (Tshwane in August and Johannesburg in September), Mulaudzi is focused on a clean sweep and breaking the national 10K record of 27:28 set by Adriaan Wildschutt earlier this year. South African long-distance star Kabelo Mulaudzi delivered yet another dazzling performance on Sunday morning, storming to victory in the Absa RUN YOUR CITY DURBAN 10K with a blistering personal best of 27 minutes and 41 seconds. The race unfolded under Durban's clear skies and warm coastal conditions, drawing 10 000 spectators along Durban's scenic promenade. Rajesh Jantilal Mulaudzi surged ahead in the final stages of the race to extend his streak of sub-28-minute finishes to three consecutive races, a feat that underscores his growing dominance in South African road running. It was the fifth time in his career that Mulaudzi dipped under the elusive 28-minute barrier, further cementing his status as one of the country's elite athletes. Mulaudzi faced stiff competition throughout the 10 kilometre race, including a spirited challenge from defending champion, South African Elroy Gelant and Kenya's Vincent Kipkorir. But it was Mulaudzi who timed his race to perfection, pulling away to an easy victory. Rajesh Jantilal Speaking after his victory, Mulaudzi said he was happy to have won the race. The competition was good. This field had all the fast guys. My target was to break the national record, but I think the pace was a bit slow in the first 5km, which is why I missed it today. Kabelo Mulaudzi That national record – 27:28, held by Adriaan Wildschutt – was set earlier this year at the Absa RUN YOUR CITY GQEBERHA 10 kilometres and remains within reach, and Mulaudzi is determined to take another shot at it. It wasn't meant to be today, but this isn't the end of the road. I'll try again. For now, my focus is on winning the two remaining events in Tshwane and Joburg. Mulaudzi Sunday's win marked Mulaudzi's second triumph in this year's Absa RUN YOUR CITY SERIES, following his victory in Cape Town in May, earlier this year. With two races remaining coming up in Tshwane next month and Johannesburg in September, he now eyes a clean sweep of the Absa Run Your City 2025 Series. Rajesh Jantilal In the women's race, Kenya's Clare Ndiwa marked her South African debut with authority, claiming the title in a superb 30:50, a time that stunned the field and signalled her arrival on the local circuit.
IOL News
3 days ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Gelant remains upbeat despite title loss in Durban 10K
Defending champion Elroy Gelant (left) finished in fifth place at the Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday morning that was won by Kabelo Mulaudzi (right) . Image: Anthony Grote Elroy Gelant remains positive despite failing to defend his Absa Run Your City Durban 10K title on Sunday morning, with the World Athletics Championships the bigger picture for the celebrated South African marathon record holder. Fellow Boxer Athletics Club runner Kabelo Mulaudzi clocked a personal best of 27:41 to win the tightly contested race. Kamehelo Mofolo of Lesotho was second (27:47), Kenya's Vincent Kipkorir third (27:48), and Tanzania's Jummanne Ngoya fourth. Gelant crossed the line in fifth, clocking 27:58. He pointed to a change in the course layout — which added more corners and inclines — as a possible reason for his slower time. Gelant won last year's edition in 27:47. Kabelo Mulaudzi clocked a personal best of 27:41 to win the highly contested Absa Run Your City Durban 10K on Sunday. Image: Anthony Grote Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'I won't tell the organiser, but it's not that fast, especially with the corners. And at 6km to 7km there's that small hump. For a marathon that might be okay, but for a 10km race, running 2:45s on those hills is not easy. Even a car travelling 120km/h slows down when it gets to a bump — so it wasn't easy,' Gelant said, after the race. He remained with the lead group until the final 2km, when Mulaudzi's decisive surge blew the race open. Still, Gelant refuses to let Sunday's run derail his ambitions of a podium finish in the marathon at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this September. 'I would still say it was a positive run in terms of my preparations for the world championships,' he said. His confidence is backed by a stellar 2:05:36 performance at the Hamburg Marathon earlier this year — a new South African record — and an 11th place finish at last year's Olympic marathon in Paris. 'The difference is the self-belief,' he explained. 'Even this year, for me to run that 2:05 was because of the self-belief I gained last year at the Olympics. That's what I'm taking into the world championships. It's the belief that I can actually do it that's slowly coming back.' 'I got a cramp at 37km (in Hamburg), and I think I could have maybe done 2:05:10 or somewhere around there.' With several East African stars either skipping the world championships or potentially dropping out in favour of major marathons, Gelant believes a top-three finish is realistic. 'Tokyo will be much more humid, but I think with that time you can maybe make the top six — and with the East Africans not there, maybe aim for the top three.' Reflecting on the East African challenge in Durban, Gelant added: 'They were quite good, but I wasn't at my best today. "I could feel from 8km that I was struggling. Last year, by 8km I was still idling in fifth gear, and when I got to 9km I said, 'Let me go into sixth'. This time around, I was already struggling at 8km. The Kenyans are still here — they're not going anywhere. So they were good, but I also don't feel they were that good.'
