SA's elite runners have thrown their weight in support of Elroy Gelant, who will run the 42.2km marathon at the World Athletics Senior Championship in Tokyo on Monday morning.
Gelant will be SA’s sole representative in the marathon contest at the world championships on Monday (1am SA time). It will be his first run at the event.
Comrades champions Gerda Steyn and Tete Dijana, and veteran marathoner Steven Mokoka, tip Gelant to be competitive.
Wishing Gelant the best at the Hollywoodbets 10km race press conference on Thursday, Dijana said: “He is the best marathon runner [in SA] and we wish him all the best. He is also my inspiration in another way because competing in the [standard] marathon is what we are looking forward to in the future."
Dijana, a three-time Comrades winner, is a specialist ultra-marathon runner, which are races of 50km and above. The distance for the standard marathon, and Olympic event, is 42.2km.
He is the best marathon runner [in SA] and we wish him all the best. He is also my inspiration in another way because competing in the [standard] marathon is what we are looking forward to in the future.
— Tete Dijana
Steyn, who will be running the Hollywood 10km in Johannesburg on Saturday, also wished Gelant well and said she was optimistic he would represent the country well.
“As a country, we are behind Elroy. We can’t wait to see him wave that flag high. He did so well last year when we were in Paris at the Olympics. He was such a fighter in that race, which we watched from our rooms the day before our race took place,” Steyn said.
“And watching him in that race with such confidence and such self-belief that he can be on top, and he did come out on top."
Galant finished the Olympic race in the 11th spot.
Meanwhile, Mokoka said Gelant’s success in Tokyo will be good for the country and added that he and will wake up at 1am to support him.
“Firstly, I would like to wish him well. I remember last year this time, he was running his last race of the season. He had a very busy year. This year he took things easy [to be fit for Tokyo],” Mokoka said.
“He is an inspiration to me. All I can say is that we put faith in him. Unfortunately, Thabang [Mosiako] and I didn’t commit to the world championships. I support Gelant to raise the flag high.”
Steyn and Mokoka will be using the Hollywoodbets 10km to prepare for the Cape Town Marathon in October, while Dijana said this is part of his plan to work on his speed.
The race begins at 7.30am at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium, Johannesburg.
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