Thomas Rainhold and Alina Armas won the open men and women’s categories at the Rössing Marathon in Swakopmund on Saturday.
Rainhold, who finished the 42 kilometers in a time of 02:14:08, was followed by Kefas Kondjashili and Ndahangwanasho Nghilyeendele with times of 02:16:46 and 02:23:30 respectively.
Meanwhile, Armas came in at 02:44:33 in the women’s categories, followed by Risa Dreyer at 02:57:37 and Ottilie Aimwata in third with a time of 03:01:43.
In an interview with Nampa after the race, Rainhold said he was pleased with the win, which is his second of the competition since 2018.
“I was determined to come and defend my title since the last physical marathon in 2018.
From here, I will be participating in the Gondwana Marathon taking place here again next weekend, followed by the Sanlam Marathon in April,” he said.
Armas told Nampa that she was relieved that they were able to run physically and not virtually any more like over the past two years.
“I am very happy for this win and overall event because last year we had to many issues and complaints with the virtual race, which was not as great but this time we had everything we needed,” said Armas, adding that she is training hard to qualify for the Olympic Games to be help in Paris, France in 2024.
Rainhold and Armas each walked away with prize money of N. dollars 20 000 and an additional N. dollars 20 000 shopping vouchers from OTB sports.
Rössing Manager of Corporate Communications Daylight Ekandjo told Nampa that the event was very special and exciting as it was not held physically for two years.
“We had a record participation of over 1000 entries in the history of the marathon and this just goes to show how hungry people are to take care of their well-being and that is what we promote at Rössing as well,” said Ekandjo.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency