Namibian runners to feature in Cape Town marathon

With just over 40 days to go to one of Africa’s most prestigious road races, the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon organisers have promised an even more impressive world-class field and a faster course as they target top-flight international status and this year prominently represented by two Namibian Athletes.

The new-look 42.2km race will be held for the second time on September 20 as part of another weekend running festival, which also includes the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, the Sanlam Cape Town 10km PEACE Run, the Sanlam Cape Town Peace Trail Runs and the Sanlam Cape Town Community Fun Run, and this year the organisers are targeting IAAF Gold Label status.
Tertius Stears, Chief Executive: Sanlam Namibia, said “It is more than 40 days to the 2015 Sanlam Cape Town Marathon, this is very exciting for us at Sanlam. We are really proud to be part of this event representing Namibia and also as the headline sponsor of Africa’s only International Association of Athletics Federation Silver Label marathon. And now we are going for Gold.”
Sanlam’s senior Marketing and Communications consultant, Ilke Platt Akwenye stated, “In the past our top African runners had to travel the world to compete for gold. Now the competition is coming to us, Africa is our home and the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is our race. Sanlam takes pride in creating a unique opportunity for international athletes, in particular African athletes, to compete in an IAAF-Label event right here on African soil.”
She said that the accessibility and inclusivity of running, which mirrors the group’s approach to wealth creation, made the sponsorship extremely special.
“For the 2014 event, we had runners from 53 countries across the world. We believe that this year, we will attract even more runners from every corner of the globe, and our charity partner line-up offers an exceptional opportunity for both the running community and supporters alike to really make a tangible difference in the lives of others.”
Mynhardt Kauanivi and Ndeshimona Ekandjo, who will participate in the race, added: “We are so honored to be given this opportunity by Sanlam and hope to place Namibia on the map. We have shown our speed and distance running locally and want to show the rest of the African Countries what we’re worth.”
Athletics Association President Alna Similo also concluded that it is important for Namibians to take part in such prestigious marathons but Namibians should not forget to start very young.
“I urge companies like Sanlam to start grooming our Namibian Athletes at a young age, so that when opportunities as such present itself, we are well prepared and ready to win and not only just participate.”