Age Group World Championship Runners Rave About Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

Cape Town, South Africa – The most successful edition yet of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon took place on Sunday 24 May, with awesome weather, incredible vibe from streets lined with spectators, stunning scenery and record-breaking times in the elite and wheelchair races.

The event, which is negotiating the final steps of phase 2 of candidacy to become an Abbott World Marathon Majors event, also played host to the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Championships for the first time. This saw 1,850 of the best age group marathoners from around the world competing for global titles in five-year age categories from 40 to over 80 years.

“It was a privilege to host the Abbott World Marathon Majors Marathon Tours & Travel Age Group World Championships s part of the 2026 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, and I’d like to congratulate all the athletes that finished on the podium in their respective age categories,” says Clark Gardner, CEO of the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon.

“We’re super proud that we have impressed our 8,500 international participants in this year’s race, including the 1,850 Age Group World Championship participants. The overall feedback from many of them has been impressive – they love Cape Town, they love South Africa, they love a marathon in Africa – so we can be super chuffed as a team about the delivery of this event.”

Repeat Winners To the Fore

Three champions retained their titles on a thrilling day of racing, including Tom van Ongeval of Belgium, who became a three-time champion by posting a 2:29:44 finish and defending the men’s 50-54 category that he won in New York last year. He won the first of his three titles in London in 2022.

“It was a hot day, and I was expecting something like New York, very flat. This course was maybe hillier than people were expecting. Especially around kilometre 32, that hill was really, really tough!” says Van Ongeval. “But I was hoping for this win, and it came true. When you are a two-time champion, everybody expects you to win, and then of course the pressure is on, so it’s really nice if you can live up to it. So, I feel incredible!”

Other New York winners to successfully defend their tiles were Japanese runner Yoji Kawese, who followed up his 2025 victory to become a back-to-back champion in the men’s 75-79 category with a 3:48:58 finish, while Great Britain’s Andrea Simmons crossed the line in 3:41:52 as she retained the women’s 70-74 category that she won in Central Park last November.

“It feels absolutely amazing to win this title, and I’m so pleased,” says Simmons. “The course was much harder than I had anticipated, and I got cramp at about 18 miles. Eliud Kipchoge is my hero and I follow him, and he gives you these mantras, because his great belief is that the mind is stronger than the body. One that he gave us a few weeks ago was, ‘I can and I will.’ So, for the last two miles, I said, ‘I can and I will.’ It shows that you can achieve whatever, that age is no object.”

Meanwhile, Russian Yuri Strofilov also became a two-time champion, running 2:45:53 to win the men’s 60-64 category, adding to his win in 2021. Another highlight was a new competition record in the men’s 80+ category, with John Fanshawe of Great Britain crossing the line in 4:08:28 to win his first age group title.

On a momentous day for South Africa, the host nation had its first age group champion as Elizabeth Potter won the women’s 55-59 category in 3:01:26. Other local runners to finish on the podium in their categories were Maxwell Sobetshe (second in the men’s 50-54), Elmarie Coetzee (second in the women’s 60-64), Norah Doherty (third in the women’s 75-79) and Mark Headbush (third in the men’s 80+).

2026 ABBOTT WORLD MARATHON MAJORS MARATHON TOURS & TRAVEL AGE GROUP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS

Women’s Results

 

W40-44

1 Doris Maria Nagel-Wallimann (SUI)     2:48:14

2 Anna Iogansen (PUR)                             2:57:27

3 Sheena Logan (GBR)                             2:58:43

 

W45-49

1 Véronique Leboeuf (CAN)                      2:52:43

2 Bibo Gao (CHN)                                       2:56:05

3 Katya Olivares Alvarez (MEX)               2:56:34

 

W50-54

1 Astrid Roberts (AUS)                               2:51:58

2 Noriko Uchida (JPN)                               2:52:33

3 Nina Rillstone (NZL)                                2:52:37

 

W55-59

1 Elizabeth Potter (RSA)                            3:01:26

2 Tracie Hoban (AUS)                                3:01:54

3 Shiho Nakatsu (JPN)                               3:02:30

 

W60-64

1 Yongson Basta (USA)                             3:15:23

2 Elmarie Coetzee (RSA)                          3:20:09

3 Maria Pilar Whitworth (USA)                  3:20:27

 

W65-69

1 Tomoko Yamada (JPN)                          3:16:27

2 Sandy Masters (GBR)                             3:24:48

3 Gwen Jacobson (USA)                           3:27:07

 

W70-74

1 Andrea Simmons (GBR)                         3:41:52

2 Jennifer Kellett (AUS)                             3:48:22

3 Grace Wasielewski (USA)                      3:48:44

 

W75-79

1 Penny Jarvis (GBR)                                 3:57:13

2 Donna Pierson (USA)                             4:52:10

3 Norah Doherty (RSA)                              5:03:30

Men’s Results

 

M40-44

1 Jose Eraldo Lima (BRA)                         2:23:47

2 Aleksei Silin (RUS)                                  2:24:00

3 Cesar Lizano (CRC)                                2:24:36

 

M45-49

1 Naoki Matsuoka (JPN)                            2:30:19

2 Maarten Mast (NED)                               2:30:22

3 James O’Brien (GBR)                             2:31:24

 

M50-54

1 Tom van Ongeval (BEL)                         2:29:44

2 Maxwell Sobetshe (RSA)                       2:36:32

3 Viktor Vladimirov (RUS)                          2:38:47

 

M55-59

1 Robert Ashby (USA)                                2:38:57

2 Magnus Åhsberg (SWE)                         2:40:18

3 Flavio DE Simone (USA)                        2:40:29

 

M60-64

1 Yuri Strofilov (RUS)                                 2:45:53

2 Fernando Vilela (POR)                           2:47:08

3 Niels Bruun (DEN)                                   2:48:31

 

M65-69

1 Sergey Apenko (KAZ)                             3:00:02

2 Lars Harald Blikra (NOR)                       3:03:03

3 Genadij Makusev (LTU)                          3:09:10

 

M70-74

1 Andrew Kilback (CAN)                            3:09:07

2 David Gibson (GBR)                               3:18:40

3 Jeffrey Ng Khai Min (SGP)                     3:22:03

 

M75-79

1 Yoji Kawase (JPN)                                   3:48:58

2 Francis Brennan (GBR)                          3:50:08

3 Tore Tvilde (NOR)                                   3:52:13

 

M80+

1 John Fanshawe (GBR)                           4:08:28

2 Bill Salazar (USA)                                    4:46:56

3 Mark Headbush (RSA)                            4:52:47

For more information on the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, please send an email to media@capetownmarathon.com or visit www.capetownmarathon.com.