Two Oceans champ Mbuleli Mathanga found dead ‘hanging from laces’

Two Oceans half-marathon champion Mbuleli Mathanga was found dead in a house at Ndwedwe, north of Durban, in the early hours of Thursday, hanging by the laces of his running shoes.

Police said an inquest docket had been opened. 

“It is alleged a man was found hanging from the roof of his girlfriend’s room,” Ndwedwe police said in a statement.

“It is alleged the couple had an argument. The deceased was found hanging from the laces of his running shoes and had an open wound at the back of his head.”

The 29-year-old had been preparing to compete in the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km race on Sunday.

Mathanga won the South African 10,000m crown in 2021 and 2022 and represented the country at the African championships in Mauritius last year and at the world cross-country championships in Australia in February.

On the road he won the Inkamana 10km in Vryheid in February 2022, the 2019 Gun Run 10km in Cape Town and the Durban 15km in 2018. 

This year, Mathanga won the 2023 Two Oceans half-marathon in a time of 1:03:58. 

He also competed abroad, finishing third in the Roma-Ostia half-marathon in October 2021.

Mathanga also held the KwaZulu-Natal 5,000m and 10,000m records. 

His coach at Phantane Athletics Club, Mdu Khumalo, said the athlete had two children, a boy and a girl.