In a rare sighting on South African roads, long-distance runner Adriaan Wildschutt made headlines by setting a new national 10km record at the Absa Run Your City event in Gqeberha on Sunday.
Wildschutt, who resides in the United States, had vowed to challenge the 27:35 national record set by Precious Mashele at the same event in 2023.
He fulfilled this promise with flair, crossing the finish line in 27:28, and trimming seven seconds off Mashele’s South African record, despite battling wind resistance in the final few kilometres.
Adriaan Wildschutt added this 10km mark to his collection of national records, which includes the 3,000m (7:32.99), 5,000m (12:55.02), and 10,000m (26:50.64) on the track.
The 26-year-old athlete finished 19 seconds ahead of Kenyan Vincent Kipkorir, who secured second place in Gqeberha with a time of 27:47. Kabelo Mulaudzi also managed to finish under 28 minutes, claiming third place with a time of 27:57.
“It feels good. It would have been such a pity coming all the way from the US and just missing the record by a few seconds,” Wildschutt said.
“My family came out to watch me, so I knew when it really started getting hard that there were people waiting for me, and I made a big surge and dug as deep as I could, and I’m very happy with the effort I was able to put together.”
In the women’s race, Glenrose Xaba, the national record holder, emerged as the leading South African by finishing third with a time of 31:55. The race was won by Kenya’s Jane Chacha, who completed it in 31:45, while Selam Gebre from Ethiopia took second place, finishing in 31:50.
“Our athletes are putting their best foot forward ahead of the ASA Senior Track And Field Championships in Potchefstroom on 24-26 April 2025,” said James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa.
“It’s been an exciting start to this season for the Rainbow Nation, with our athletes giving us national records almost every week or month. We are quite proud of this and cannot wait for the next coming weeks of competition.”
