Tebello Ramakongoana holds off Elroy Gelant in Durban 10km

LESOTHO athletes reigned supreme at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km race yesterday morning, with Olympian Tebello Ramakongoana and Neheng Khathala winning the respective men’s and women’s categories.

Ramakongoana, who finished sixth in the marathon at the Paris 2024 Games, crossed the finish line just a second ahead of South Africa’s Elroy Gelant, who was also an impressive performer at the Olympics with 11th place.

The Lesotho athlete took home local running’s biggest 10km cheque of R37 500 thanks to his 28:07 run in pretty windy conditions that put paid to the organisers’ hopes that the strong field would result in the national record being broken.

But try as they might, the likes of Gelant, last year’s winner Kabelo Mulaudzi, who came fourth, and the legendary Stephen Mokoka (fifth) could not get anywhere near Precious Mashele’s 27:35 mark.

Ramakongoana was pretty chuffed with himself, given that he is still recovering from the challenging Olympic marathon.

“I’m very happy to win, very excited because I‘ve just come here to test my body after the tough competition of the Olympics. I just wanted to test to see if I am good to compete again,” the Excel athlete said.

Like the rest of the field, Ramakongoana’s plan for the race was scuppered by the strong wind.

“My plan was to run sub-28, and after the gun, I decided to go. But after 2km I felt it was too windy and I dropped the pace a little bit to run with the bunch. And when we got to 6km, I decided to go, and that’s how I won the race.”

He knew he had tough competition from Gelant, and had to be smart to take the sting out of the South African stalwart’s renowned strong finish early on.

“Elroy Gelant is a good runner. He is faster than me, and I respect him a lot. So from 6km, I decided to go because I knew that with 1km to go, he would out-sprint me.

“So, I made him run more early, so that he can use energy and not sprint for me at the end.”

It s a plan that worked like a charm, as Ramakongoana only just managed to keep Gelant from beating him at the finish line.

There was no such challenge for his compatriot Khathala in the women’s race, though, as she won comfortably, with her 32:26 being a good 22 seconds ahead of the second-placed Cacisile Sosibo.

🥇 Breaking News! 🥇
The first male and female athletes have crossed the finish line! 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️
Introducing the 2024 Hollywoodbets Durban 10km winners, Tebello Ramakongoanna & Hollywood Athletics Clubs very own, Neheng Khatala! 🥳💜
Their incredible performances were nothing short of… pic.twitter.com/NmuMTkan2q

— Hollywood Athletics Club (@HWAthleticsClub) September 29, 2024

“I’m so happy for my win today ... this means a lot. It feels so amazing to be on the top of the podium,” Khathala said.

“I wanted this win and I worked for it, even though I feel that one thing left for me is to run fast times.

“I wanted a win this year and I got it today,” the Hollywood Athletics Club runner said after the race.

“The field was strong. I knew all the ladies are strong, and I knew everyone could win, especially Cian (Oldknow, the defending champion who came fifth this time around) because she pushed the pace.

“At 3.20 (minutes per kilometre), the pace was so comfortable and I said, ‘Oh yes, it’s going to give me an advantage’.

“At 7km, I stretched a little and then at 8km, I pulled off – and that’s how I won the race.”

Race Results

Men: 1 Tebello Ramakonogana (Excel) 28:07, 2 Elroy Gelant (Boxer AC) 28:08, 3 Kamohelo Mofolo (Maxed Elite Lesotho) 28:10

Women: 1 Neheng Khathala (Hollywood AC) 32:26, 2 Cacisile Sosibo (Boxer AC) 32:48, 3 Blandina Makatsi (Maxed Elite Lesotho) 33:07