Mweshame Kange and Matheus Jesaya each won P25,000 for winning their races. Jesaya clocked a personal best of 2:17:35 while Kange did 2:46:56 to beat her fellow runners to the finish line to confirm the Namibians' dominance at this year's competition.
Local athletes, Boikhutso Bakha and Kitsiso Jospeh??? from BDF Athletics Club could only settle for position two and three respectively under the female category. In the male race, Jesaya was followed by Lyno Muchena and Godiraone Nthompe.
After the race, Jesaya said he was elated to finish first. He also said it was a good thing to win the race on his debut at the Orange Phikwe National Marathon. "I am so happy to win the race. It was a tough competition but at the end I pushed myself to take it. It was a really nice track, I had no problems at all. I am very happy with the time that I clocked. It is my personal best," said Jesaya.
Kange also expressed delight at her win. She said the marathon came at a time when she is at her peak. This year's marathon attracted over 2,300 runners under different categories, an improvement from the previous event. Orange Botswana sponsorship coordinator, Segomotso Kgwatalala said they are happy with how the event unfolded on its return after a two-year hiatus.
Kgwatalala said they expect the event to continue to grow, something which is reflected by the participation of international runners. She indicated that as the sponsor, they are looking at increasing the prize money to attract even more international runners. "Well, I cannot say for sure and be committal about it, but it is definitely part of the broader plan," she said.
Meanwhile, local athletes dominated the half marathon after scooping all podium positions in the women's race, then two and three in the male race. Gaone Bathoeng of BDF Athletics Club took position one in the women's race while the male race was won by Kenyan, Sila Kiptoo.
