“The streets of London were full of crowds, some were calling out ‘Mkhaya’, which means ‘We are coming from the same country’, saying ‘Go Mkhaya! Go Mkhaya’.” Yanga Malusi and Malixole Kalideni were welcomed home by a throng of supporters as the Border athletes competed with 50,000 people at the London Marathon in England on Sunday.
Far from the gravel roads of the Eastern Cape, top runners Malixole Kalideni, 31, and Yanga Malusi, 26, will be taking part in one of the world’s most prestigious events, the TCS London Marathon, on Sunday.
Local athletes have rallied behind two of the Eastern Cape’s top runners Malixole Kalideni and Yanga Malusi who have been given a once-in-a-lifetime invitation to the prestigious TCS London Marathon, taking place in the UK in April.The 42.165km route includes London’s landmarks like Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf and had 48,000 participants in 2023.
The MBSA 15km run out and back to the motor plant on East London’s historical West Bank attracted a finishing field of 735 runners, joggers and walkers on an ideal morning.
Entries have been streaming in at a steady rate for the 2023 Surfers Challenge taking place on Saturday, and in the process a picture of the likely head-to-head racing is taking shape. The Daily Dispatch had a discussion with 2012 men’s winner Awonke Bungu, who indicated he would be racing the traditional Surfers from Kwelera to Nahoon for the first time since he had won.