SAMKELISIWE, MANCOBA CRUISE TO TOP

SITEKI – Correctional Athletics Club’s Samkelisiwe Tfwala successfully defended her title in the 42km Lubombo Marathon ladies category to walk away with E5 000.

The race was staged in Siteki yesterday. Tfwala mentioned that ahead of her race she was intent on defending the title, even though she did not adequately prepare time for this year’s edition of the marathon. She highlighted that her time to prepare was constrained by work commitments, however, she was able to utilise the little time to make sure she prepared as best as she could. Furthermore, after successfully finishing in pole position in the third edition of the Lubombo Marathon 42km, she cited that incorporating 400 and 800 metre runs assisted her in her endurance and speed at the same time, ultimately propelling her to run a faster race. Tfwala also highlighted that she was quite happy with the competition she faced during the third edition, which made her that much more grateful for being able to defend the title.

“In terms of the numbers we had for the females; I think the ladies are afraid to take part in the 42km,” Tfwala said. Moreover, she highlighted on the weather conditions, citing that when they left in the morning the conditions were quite cool. When they were heading for the finish line at Siteki Sports Ground, the sun had come out, which she mentioned had quite an impact on how she finished. She also said it would have been better for the sun to come out with only 10km to go, but it was harder because it came out while they were still en route to the 42km turning point after Sitsatsaweni.

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“I wanted to beat my time from last year but I knew I wasn’t going to beat it because last year I had enough time to prepare for this marathon. This year I was basically using the little opportunities I had to train,” expressed Samkelisiwe. Meanwhile, the male’s 42km was completely dominated by Royal Eswatini Police Services’ (REPS) Mancoba Nhlabatsi, who was also recently named the sports man of the year. Mancoba highlighted that he participated in the 42km race as part of training, as he usually competed in the half marathon. He highlighted that he was not under pressure to win the race but at least get a podium finish, which he was able to get. Questioned on whether he would continue in the 42km, he cited that he will be returning to the 21km in his next race. “When we were still going to our turning point, I noted that my competition was much stronger on the hills. So when we were heading back I showed them how strong I was on the flats,” expressed Mancoba.

He also touched on international competitions, highlighting that he was hopeful that he would participate in upcoming events if he was able to get support. Furthermore, Athletics Eswatini (AE) President, Zakhele Dlamini mentioned that the third edition of the Lubombo Marathon was a great success. He expressed his gratitude to all participants, as well as partners who made the event the success that it was. He especially expressed his gratitude to the Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Bongani Muzi Nzima, who was part of the festivities.

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“We are happy to see a few internationals participating in the marathon. This shows that as the event grows, it will garner support from all over southern Africa. We also had a few Kenyans who registered for the race; unfortunately they couldn’t make it on the postponed date due to a big event they had that is recognised by World Athletics. The interest as well shows that not just the TZD Lubombo Marathon is growing, but such events as a whole,” Dlamini said. Moreover, Minister Nzima expressed his gratitude for the efforts made by TZD, as well as the partnering companies that guaranteed the event to be a success. He mentioned that he was especially happy that a majority of the prize winners were from the country, even though two athletes from South Africa and one from Zimbabwe were able to finish ahead of a number of emaSwati in their respective categories. “It is part of my dream to take such events through the regions first so that we are able to unearth new talents. There are hidden talents in the country; once that talent has been unearthed and nurtured, those athletes can then represent the country. Let their talent be seen so they do not grow old with it,” Nzima said.

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