Leading athletics commentator and announcer Thabo Molete could barely contain his admiration as he inspected the Champions League Cross Country medals and winners' trophy before they were presented at the relay stage finale at Curro Serengeti in Kempton Park on May 31. Molete has become the latest high-profile figure to throw his support behind the innovative franchise-based competition, which got underway with a time-trial stage earlier in May. A passionate advocate for the

Many will find it difficult to believe that Johannes Kekana only decided to compete in the 2013 Comrades Marathon just a few months before securing a memorable fifth place finish on debut. Reminiscing about his remarkable 2013 performance where he achieved a time of 5:46:27 on the Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, the renowned South African long distance runner revealed to #TheTopRunner that he only decided to participate in the event just 10 weeks before race day. "I s

Celebrated as a success, the inaugural Phantane Durban Street Mile brought together some of South Africa's most prominent middle distance stars, and it was Johannes Morepe who came out on top. The 21-year-old got the best of a quality field including reigning SA 5000m champion Jerry Matsau. The 1500m specialist clocked 4:06 to edge out Abraham Kubjane in a close finish where both men were credited with the same finishing time. Matsau was the third man to cross the finish line

Since the likes of World Championships bronze medalist Johan Cronje and Olympic finalist Juan van Deventer achieved 1500m success on the world stage, South Africa has struggled to produce male middle distance stars who can compete at the highest level. Although there was some progress when 1500m specialists Ryan Mphahlele and Tshepo Tshite closed the gap and represented SA at the Paris Olympics, experts agree that the nation’s global achievements do not match it’s endless sup