Champion marathon athlete, Riana van Niekerk, crossed the finish line of the Singapore Leg of the Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth in fifth position earlier today (Sunday December 3), in a time of 2 hours 55 minutes and 45 seconds.
The Standard Chartered Greatest Race on Earth is a tough, four-leg, relay marathon being run in four countries over a five month period. It is being contested by 80 teams drawn from 30 different countries and carries total cash prizes of $1, 5 million.
Van Niekerk is in the South African women’s team competing in the Women’s Team Challenge category that features total cash prizes of $200 000.
The winning team is calculated on the combined finishing times of the four athletes. The South African team is also eligible for consideration in the Performance Awards category with prizes totalling $55 000.
“Riana ran her own race. She was constant and steady. She ran a brilliant tactical marathon,” said her elated manager for the Greatest Race, the legendary marathon athlete, Bruce Fordyce, speaking from Singapore.“Riana was solid all round. She ran a great race.
“Some of her competitors sped off in the beginning and came unstuck when the effects of the high humidity took effect. The conditions were hot, humid and overcast…comparable to a 30 degree day in Durban in February,” he added.
Fellow Comrades gold medallist, Farwa Mentoor, ran the first leg of the Greatest Race in Nairobi in October, completing that marathon in ninth position.
The third and final legs of the Greatest Race will be contested by Louisa Leballo in Mumbai on January 21 and by Gloria Baebo in Hong Kong on March 4. Both athletes are, like Riana van Niekerk, based in Pretoria.
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