Namakoe Nkhasi breasts the tape to win the men’s race (photo credit: Tobias Ginsberg)
Namakoe Nkhasi of Lesotho continued his fine run of form and local star Lebogang Phalula shook off the effects of her debut marathon, as they coasted to the men’s and women’s titles at the inaugural edition of the FNB Joburg 10k CityRun on Saturday.
Nkhasi, who won the 10km race at the Cape Town Marathon last week, added another title after breaking away from an eight-man lead group in the second half.
With only Edwin Koech able to stick with his relentless pace on the tough course, Nkhasi dropped the Kenyan athlete with less than three kilometres remaining to take the win in 29:48.
Koech finished second in 30:07 and early leader Sibusiso Nzima held on for third position in 30:10.
Phalula, who was third in her 42km debut in Cape Town six days earlier, broke clear in the latter stages of the race to win by nearly half a minute in 35:33.
Rutendo Nyahora of Zimbabwe grabbed second spot in 35:59 and Glenrose Xaba charged through for third in 36:07.
Phalula’s twin sister Diana-Lebo was in contention for most of the race, but after fading to fourth (36:31) in warm conditions at the high-altitude event, she collapsed and needed medical assistance.
After being stretchered to the medical tent, however, reports suggested that she was recovering well.
* Full results are available in our Results section