Hailemaryam Kiros of Ethiopia won the Osaka Marathon in 2:06:01, two seconds ahead of Victor Kiplagat of Uganda.
The 38-year-old Mokoka, fifth in this event at the 2019 world championships in Doha, improved his best time by nearly a minute.
The 2:07:40 he ran in Shanghai in November 2015 had ranked him fifth on the South African list behind Thys, Hendrick Ramaala (2:06:55), Ian Syster (2:07:06) and Josia Thugwane (2:07:28).
Now he’s second on the all-time list.
But Mokoka’s 2:40:13 50km South African mark fell in Gqeberha later in the morning when Comrades champion Tete Dijana clocked 2:39:04 finishing first at the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers ultra-marathon race.
Mokoka’s time had been a world record when he set it in early March last year, but that was broken twice within the space of several months, eventually being lowered to 2:38:43 by American CJ Albertson.
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Mokoka threatens SA marathon record, but loses 50km mark to Dijana
Comrades champ dips under 2:40:00
Image: Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Stephen Mokoka became only the third South African to break the two-hour, seven-minute barrier in the marathon as he finished fifth in Osaka on Sunday in 2 hr 6 min 42 sec.
He missed Gert Thys’ 2:06:33 South African record set in Tokyo in 1999 by just nine seconds.
Hailemaryam Kiros of Ethiopia won the Osaka Marathon in 2:06:01, two seconds ahead of Victor Kiplagat of Uganda.
The 38-year-old Mokoka, fifth in this event at the 2019 world championships in Doha, improved his best time by nearly a minute.
The 2:07:40 he ran in Shanghai in November 2015 had ranked him fifth on the South African list behind Thys, Hendrick Ramaala (2:06:55), Ian Syster (2:07:06) and Josia Thugwane (2:07:28).
Now he’s second on the all-time list.
But Mokoka’s 2:40:13 50km South African mark fell in Gqeberha later in the morning when Comrades champion Tete Dijana clocked 2:39:04 finishing first at the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers ultra-marathon race.
Mokoka’s time had been a world record when he set it in early March last year, but that was broken twice within the space of several months, eventually being lowered to 2:38:43 by American CJ Albertson.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
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