LOBAMBA – Thobile Ngwenyama and Mancoba Sangweni were crowned the champions of the open categories of the 2025 Cross-country, which was organised by Athletics Eswatini (AE) yesterday at Lobamba.
The open categories were both intense and highly competitive, as Ngwenyama capitalised on Nongcebo Mathabela’s chosen footwear, which she noted caused her problems.
The Open Ladies category saw a total of 14 athletes take to the 2km course, which consisted of five laps to produce a 10km race track.
The first lap, Ngwenyama and Mathabela were hip to hip, while the rest of the remaining laps told a different story all together.
Ngwenyama pulled away and eventually secured first place, ahead of second placed Mathabela and noted that the weather conditions yesterday permitted such events such as cross country.
“The race was great, this is cross country, you run it when the sun out like it was. I’m happy with my performance, I think competing in the Imbube Marathon helped a lot,” she expressed.
She further mentioned that cross country is a different tone compared to the marathon races they are used to, noting that cross-country needs speed and a field as a preferred area for preparations.
Ngwenyama, who is a Correctional athlete, also added that this was a great accomplishment for her as she trained for only two days, jumping from the Imbube Marathon and straight to the 10km cross-country challenge.
It is worth noting that the recently concluded event served as a qualifier for the South African Confederation of Athletics (SACA) Cross-Country Championships to be held in Zambia, in two months’ time.
She was further quizzed on her chances of qualifying for the championships, where she seemed optimistic, where her optimism stemmed from her result.
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