Ernst van Dyk
Veteran wheelchair racer Ernst van Dyk grabbed second place in a sprint finish on Sunday at the Berlin Marathon in Germany.
Van Dyk formed part of a six-man lead group in a late dash.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland broke away to win in 1:59:21, with the South African crossing the line two seconds later.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian athlete Kenenisa Bekele, the world 5 000m and 10 000m record holder, won a spectacular elite men’s race in 2:03:03 at the World Marathon Majors event.
While Kenyan Wilson Kipsang put up a strong fight for victory, dropping Bekele twice in the latter stages of the race, he had no response when the former track specialist tore clear to miss the world record by six seconds. Kipsang finished second in 2:03:13.
In the women’s contest, Ethiopian Aberu Kebede took a comfortable win in 2:20:45, well ahead of compatriot Birhane Dibaba who was second in 2:23:58.
Manuela Schar of Switzerland earned the women’s wheelchair title in 1:43:00.