Steyn eyes sixth successive Two Oceans victory

SOMETIME this afternoon, the contenders for the TotalSports Two Oceans Marathon title will gather at a hotel in the Mother City, not far from the start line of the flagship 56km race, to share their state of readiness with the media.

- MATSHELANE MAMABOLO

Gerda Steyn will take most of the spotlight, and she will, as she always does, flash that famous smile of hers and expertly avoid talking up her chances at what would be her sixth successive victory in the race. Her potential opponent and now teammate at Hollywood Athletics Club, Irvette van Zyl, will giggle and say 'Ja' at the start of almost all her sentences, which she will litter with her desire to beat Steyn.

It is once again going to be a two-women race, as it was back in 2022 when the duo both broke Frith van der Merwe's record from way back in 1989, a mark that had been thought of as unbreakable. The two repeated their duel last year, after Van Zyl missed the 2023 race due to injury, and this time Steyn won pretty comfortably after her adversary was tripped and fell early on in the race. She still ran remarkably for a second-place finish, although a good three minutes behind Steyn, who again completed the race in record time.