urban, South Africa, June 3. Elena Nurgalieva held off a late charge by Ellie Greenwood to repeat as champion at the Comrades Marathon, a 89-km run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Devon Crosby-Helms of San Francisco held the women’s lead for much of the early part of the race, and eventually finished fifth.
Ludwick Mamabolo became the first South Africa winner in seven years. Three-time defending champion Stephen Muzhingi of Zimbabwe finished sixth. Top Americans were Michael Wardian of Arlington, Virginia and Chad Rickelfs of Boulder, Colorado, who finished 38th and 50th, respectively. There were 11,942 finishers within the 12-hour time limit.
Men
1. Ludwick Mamabolo, 35, South Africa, 5:31:03
2. Bongmusa Mthembu, 28 South Africa, 5:32:40
3. Leboka Noto, 41, Lesotho, 5:33:07
4. Marko Mambo, 41, Zimbabwe, 5:33:44
5. Leonid Shvetsov, 43, Russia, 5:35:12
Women
1. Elena Nurgalieva, 35, Russia, 6:07:12
2. Ellie Greenwood, 33, North Vancouver, BC, 6:08:24
3. Marina Zhalybina, 36, Russia, 6:30:54
4. Joasia Zakrzewski, 36, Great Britain, 6:33:41
5. Devon Crosby-Helms, 29, San Francisco, CA, 6:39:59
Photo: Ludwick Mamabolo (courtesy Mr Price)