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Ellina Mhlanga Harare Bureau
ELIJAH Mabhunu of the Zimbabwe Republic Police won the Old Mutual Westgate half marathon in Harare yesterday. Mabhunu crossed the finishing line in one hour three minutes 25 seconds to beat other top athletes such as Kelvin Pangiso, who came second in one hour four minutes 15 seconds, in a tightly contested race with the top five runners being separated by just a few seconds.

For his efforts, Mabhunu walked away $3,000 richer.

The 25-year-old was impressed with his performance after scooping the top prize, noting that it was a tough competition as most top athletes took part in the race.

“The race was tough because all top athletes were here. Since the prize is high, everyone wants to compete, so the race wasn’t easy but I was well prepared because last year I came second and this time I wanted to be number one,” said Mabhunu.

“I had a good start because I knew that I was fit. After three kilometres, some of the guys reduced their speed but I maintained my speed until I crossed the finishing line.

“I’m really happy because I’ve been improving. My performance keeps on encouraging me to hope for the best, such as competing at the Olympics and World Championships in the future,” he said.

Misheck Mabheka came third in one hour four minutes 20 seconds, followed by Munyaradzi Jari, who posted a time of one hour four minutes 36 seconds.

Lewis Masunda was fifth in a time of one hour four minutes 40 seconds. Last year’s winner, Jacob Mugomeri was eighth.

Rutendo Nyahora defended her title in the women’s category when she powered home in one hour 15 minutes six seconds to pocket $3,000.

Nyahora recently won the Pretoria Spar women’s 10km challenge in South Africa.

She could not hide her joy after retaining the women’s title yesterday and attributed her success to hard work.

“I’m happy with my performance today. It’s like everything went according to my plan. It wasn’t easy for me being a defending champion. I knew everyone’s eyes would be on me but I’m so happy because I’ve been working hard since the beginning of this year focusing on my big races and this one is one of my big races,” said Nyahora.

“I was preparing for this since the beginning of the year and I’m so happy with my time today. I’m so happy to defend my title as well.

“I’m waiting for the Gutu half marathon because I’m the defending champion, as well as the Vumba marathon.

“This year the competition wasn’t that tough for me because the likes of Olivia Chitate and Constance Nyasango weren’t here,” she said.

Faith Nyasango settled for second place in one hour 18 minutes 47 seconds while Patience Murari was third in one hour 20 minutes 31 seconds.

Elford Moyo finished the 21km wheelchair race in one hour three minutes two seconds to retain his title.

He was followed by Samson Muroyiwa, who posted a time of one hour three minutes 25 seconds, while Munyaradzi Katiyo was third in one hour nine minutes 16 seconds.

The women’s title went to Margaret Bangajena, who clocked one hour 30 minutes 40 seconds.

Magdalene Madzivire finished second in one hour 36 minutes seven seconds and in third position was Ratidzo Tomu in a time of one hour 46 minutes eight seconds.

Winners from the men’s section and women’s section got $1,000 each.

There was a mix-up in the 10km race with part of the route not marked, which saw the participants running less than 10KM and event director Joshua Tigere said the times would not stand.

Moses Tarakinyu won the men’s category and the women’s section was won by Sofia Chihama.

“There was a mix-up in the 10km road race. The key thing is the times; if there’s a problem with the times, we’ll not recognise them as record times. We’ll not have them recorded as record times because there’s a query on the distance that was covered,” said Tigere.

“But on the 21km race, everything went as per plan. It was the correct route and we’re happy that the competition was very high in both the men and women’s categories. It was really exciting,” Tigere said.

More than 700 athletes took part in the event.