It’s December which allows us to reflect on the year and take a trip down memory lane to see what the amazing ladies in purple achieved in 2024. It was certainly one for the record books.
From Two Oceans to the Comrades Marathon, Vilakazi Street in Soweto to the grand boulevards of Paris, 2024 was quite a year for our ladies who stepped up to the plate and shined bright.
From the get-go in January, Irvette van Zyl started off impressively, taking a dominant victory at the Dischem Half Marathon in a rapid 1:16:13, with Hollywood teammate Cian Oldknow in second in 1:17:52. This set the tone heading into Two Oceans, the first major event on the calendar.
Once again, van Zyl ran a brave race, dipping under the previous course record but had to settle for second on the day in 3:29:30. Hollywood Athletics Club teammate Loveness Madziva ran the race of her life on the day to finish third in 3:38:00, not long after her victory at the Runified 50km, marking the first time that Hollywood Athletics Club saw two of our Purple Stars on the podium at this prestigious ultra. Carla Molinaro was fifth, collecting another gold medal and looking really good ahead of Comrades. In the half marathon, Oldknow finished second. Around the same time, Neheng Khatala and Rutendo Nyahora were out of the country running international marathons. Khatala finished ninth at the Hamburg Marathon in a world-class 2:28:37 with Nyahora finishing ninth at the Hannover Marathon in 2:34:29.
Up to that point it had already been a busy year for Oldknow whose stock rose with every race. Two weeks after that Dishcem Half Marathon second place, Oldknow ran the Johnson Crane Marathon, taking victory in what was essentially a long run ahead of her debut international marathon in Seville where she aimed to run an Olympic qualifying time. Finishing strongly, Oldknow ran a fantastic 2:25:08 to qualify for her first Olympic Games.
Cian Oldknow showcased exceptional skill and determination, securing an impressive second place in the Totalsports Two Oceans half marathon 🥈🏃♀️#conquerTheCurrent #TTOM2024 #HWAC pic.twitter.com/uHwTYWloiM
— Hollywood Athletics Club (@HWAthleticsClub) April 14, 2024
Heading to Comrades, the pressure was on Molinaro and Madziva who were hunting gold, with the latter attempting her first up run. Also looking good was Melinda Jansen van Vuuren who earlier in March took victory at the Durban Marathon in 2:56:47. Madziva ran brave race, leading up front for much of the first half but inexperience over the distance caught up to her and she faded to 13th. Her time of 6:34:27 would have been good enough for gold in every previous edition of the up run. Molinaro had yet another great Comrades, finishing in fourth in a super-fast 6:12:01. So fast was her time, that she would have been crowned Comrades champion in many of the previous editions of the up run.
After the big ultras were done, all roads led to Paris for the Olympic Games and the Hollywood Athletics Club proudly had three women representing their countries in the marathon. Oldknow and van Zyl were representing South Africa and Nyahora, Zimbabwe. Over a tough course which saw a brutal 436 metres of elevation, Oldknow finished as best of the South Africans in 32nd in 2:30:29. Van Zyl was just behind in 37th in 2:31:14 with Nyahora unfortunately failing to finish.
Carla Molinaro produced a stunning effort to finish the 2024 Comrades Marathon in a time of 06:12:01, claiming a Gold Medal in the process.
— Hollywood Athletics Club (@HWAthleticsClub) June 14, 2024
Click on the link to read more! 🗞#HWAC #HollywoodAC
With the Olympic Games done and dusted, the focus was back on the shorter events on the road before all roads led yet again to the prestigious Soweto Marathon. Young Tayla Kavanagh, after struggling with injury over the first half of the year, showed she was still a force to be reckoned with. After taking victory at the Spar Pietermaritzburg 10km, Kavanagh turned her attention to the half marathon. She ran an amazing race at the Gun Run Half Marathon taking victory in 1:13:03, which is the fastest time posted by a South African woman over the distance for 2024. She followed that up with a fast 32:38 victory at the Cape Town 10km. As a former South African champion over the 5km and 10km, 2025 looks to be a good year for the youngster from KZN.
After not being selected by her Country for the Olympic Games Marathon, Khatala focussed on the Absa Run Your City 10km series and the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km. Down in Durban at the Absa Run Your City 10km, Khatala finished fifth in a world-class field, running a new Lesotho national record of 32:01. She followed this up with a commanding victory at the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km. Run in extremely windy conditions, Khatala ran away from a class field, taking victory in 32:25. With 14 podium placings already in 2024, one would have thought that Khatala would call it a year, but one of her biggest performances was still to come. On a warm morning on the streets of Soweto, Khatala ran away from the rest of the field to take victory at the prestigious African Bank Soweto Marathon. “I am so happy with my victory today because it is the first time I am running this race so for me to join such big women who have won this race before me really means a lot,” said Khatala afterwards. To cap off a great 2024, Khatala finished second at the Hollywoodbets Joburg 10km in 34:29.
In 2024, Hollywood Athletics Club starlet Neheng Khatala delivered a series of remarkable performances on the road. Here she chats to Thathe Msimango about her outstanding season.
— Hollywood Athletics Club (@HWAthleticsClub) November 25, 2024
Read more🔗#HollywoodAC #HollywoodbetsDurban10km #HollywoodbetsJoburg10km #SowetoMarathon
If 2024 is any indication, the ladies of the Hollywood Athletics Club are just getting warmed up. We cannot wait to see what 2025 has to offer! Next week, we will reflect on our men’s achievements at the Purple Stars from 2024.