NewZimbabwe.com
4 November 2011
With the East Africans currently having a stranglehold over the marathon majors, Southern African and three-time Comrades Marathon champion Stephen Muzhingi will attempt to break the sequence in the New York Marathon on Sunday.
The Zimbabwean will be making his marathon debut away from the continent after securing an entry into the race through a special invite following his exploits in the world’s best-known ultra-marathon, the Comrades.
Muzhingi, 33, won the event for a third time on the trot Muzhingi becoming the first man in 23 years to win the world’s oldest and toughest endurance race three successive times.
Following his win in May, Sports Minister, David Coltart tweeted: “Very few people seem to appreciate what a truly remarkable win Stephen Muzhingi has had today. He is a humble man from a poor background who has achieved this magnificent hat-trick without much of the backing that athletes receive elsewhere in the world.â€
While the New York Marathon distance, at about 42 kilometres, is less than half the ultra-marathon distance that Muzhingi has thoroughly dominated in the past, it is harder to qualify for as it requires a runner to have a sub 2:10 marathon time, a speed Muzhingi lacked in order to qualify for the coveted elite athlete invitation.
“I have now dropped to a sub-2:20 marathon time but I’ve never really raced a marathon properly, so this will be a true test for me,†he said. “My aim is to run a 2:10 or faster, which I know I can do.â€
On Sunday he will test his endurance against some of the world’s top distance runners, watched by an estimated two million cheering spectators and more than 300 million television viewers.
This year’s event is backed by $650 000 in prize money with the winner expected to take home about $130000.
Ethiopian Gebregziabher Gebremariam won in 2010.