TOP PERFORMANCE Elroy Gelant (centre) broke the South African marathon record with a remarkable time of 2:05:36 at the Hamburg Marathon, showcasing his impressive transition to long-distance running. Picture: BackpagePix
Image: BackpagePix
Elroy Gelant shattered the SA record as he finished fourth in the Hamburg Marathon in a time of 2 hours five minutes and 36 seconds (2:05:36) on Sunday.
The 38-year-old took 57 seconds off the previous SA record, which was set by Gert Thys in Tokyo in 1999.
Gelant has produced an exceptional late-career flourish as he has made the switch to the marathon from the shorter half-marathon and 10km races in South Africa.
Testament to his quality over the 42.2km distance, Gelant also finished 11th at the Paris Olympics in the men’s marathon last year.
Gelant's Impressive Marathon and Half Marathon Performances Highlight His Late Career Resurgence
Gelant also set another personal best over 21.1km when he ran 60:22 in the Bashir’s Run Half Marathon in Belgium in March.
After that race, Gelant said: “I’m really excited about my performance and feeling optimistic about what lies ahead. While winning was never the goal, it turned out to be an amazing bonus! I consider it a blessing to still be able to achieve personal bests at this stage in my life.
“Nonetheless, achieving a personal best is exciting, and this performance serves as just a stepping stone in my preparations for the marathon in April.”
Those preparations clearly continued to progress well, as his new national record indicates.
Though he’s made the switch to the marathon, Gelant had been producing top results over every distance for the last two seasons. That includes setting a Personal Best over 10km on the road in August last year in Durban, when he clocked an incredible 27:47.