RRW: Triple South African Champion Marius Van Heerden Has Died From COVID-19
By Riël Hauman
(c) 2021 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved
(29-Jan) The COVID-19 pandemic claimed one of the best middle distance runners ever produced in South Africa, Marius van Heerden, in Cape Town last Thursday (January 21). Van Heerden, a former South African senior record holder and junior champion in the 800 meters, as well as national senior champion over 1500m, was just 46 years-old.
Marius Van Heerden in 2017 (family photo via Facebook)
Van Heerden represented South Africa at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta and the 1997 World Championships in Athens. He first received national colours for a tour to India in 1993.