WP Half Marathon team excels

The Western Province Athletics team to the SA Half Marathon Championships on Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 4 July 2009 won five individual and three team medals. In the process two Western Province records were bettered.

Lindikhaya Mthangayi was the first WP athlete across the line, winning the silver medal in a time of 61:32, bettering the WP record of 61:58 set by Makhosonke Fika in 2001.

The men’s and women’s senior teams both won bronze medals. The men’s team of Mthangayi, Zolani Ntongana (62:23), Avukile Ntongana (64:24) and Anthony Godongwana (65:29) returned the best WP senior result at the SA Half Marathon Championships in a number of years. The women’ team was Bulelwa Mtshagi (79:13); Thozama April (79:15); Nomvuyisi Seti (81:24) and Kirsty Weir (82:42)

Gold medals were won by Olga Howard (89:41) in the women’s 50-59 category and the women’s 40-49 team (Michelle Bartman (81:28), Joanna Thomas (83:39) and Elmarie Coetzee (84:04)).

The team’s other silver medals were won by Michelle Bartman in the women’s 40-49 category, her time also bettering her own WP record; Vladimir Kotov (73:59) in the men’s 50+ category; and Albertus Bok (82:35) in the men’s 60+ category.