Rainhold, Armas dominate Rössing Uranium Marathon

Tomas Rainhold and Alina Armas emerged as the winners of the 32nd annual Rössing Uranium National Marathon on Saturday in Swakopmund.

Rainhold crossed the finish line at 02:14:08 (3:10), while Armas finished at 02:44:33. They both received N$20 000 cash and additional shopping vouchers valued at N$20 000 for their sports gear and equipment.



Winners

In the 42 km marathon open men's division, Rainhold clinched first place. He was followed by Kefas Kondjashili (3:14) and Ndahangwanasho Nghilyeendele (3:24).

Armas won first place in the female division. She was followed by Risa Dreyer (4:12) and Ottilie Aimwata (4:18). Jeremia Shaliaxwe (3:10) clinched first place in the 21 km marathon's open men's division. He was followed by Thomas Shigwedha (3:11) and Mathias Simon (3:13). Beata Naigambo (3:53) won first place in the female division. She was followed by Lavinia Haitope (3:59) and Victoria Kaliteka (4:04). In the 10 km masters men's division, Gabriel Brez clinched first place. Rabanus Shoopala and Robert Kalomoh followed him.



Fun walk

Cherestani Langenhoven won the best theme category in the 5 km fun walk. She was followed by Linda Langenhoven. Ceara Sindair won the prize for the cutest pet walker. The youngest-walker category was won by two-year-old Martin Gantz, while the oldest-walker category was won by 72-year-old Martin van Niekerk.



Blast

The winner of the 42 km men's division, Rainhold, said that it was a great race.

"The weather was perfect. I led the pack from the beginning up to a certain point when I felt my body becoming exhausted. In the last 25 kilometers, I picked up the pace again, surpassed the guy who was in the lead, and I remained in the first position until I crossed the finish line", he said, adding that he also won the championship in 2018.

This is the eighth time Rainhold has participated in the Rössing marathon. He also took part in an international marathon that took place in Botswana two weeks ago, where he won second place.

Armas, who won the female division, said that she had a blast.

"The race was fun, and I enjoyed myself. The only problem that we experienced was the foggy weather, but other than that, we enjoyed the race," she said, calling on Rossing to keep growing the event so that "it keeps on going strong for many years to come."



Turnout

Rössing Uranium’s managing director, Johan Coetzee, pointed out that this year’s marathon received a record-breaking number of entries, with over 800 runners. "For many of us, today was a lot of fun; for others, it was a challenge like no other; but for all of us, I believe the day was another step towards taking better care of ourselves".

According to him, the main aim of the event is to proudly associate Rössing Uranium with the promotion of a healthy lifestyle in the mine’s neighbouring communities, while at the same time fostering health, safety, and teamwork exchanges among our stakeholders.

"The Rössing Marathon is one of our key annual social investment initiatives. All the proceeds collected from the over 300 runners who took part in the 5 km fun walk will be used to aid the Cancer Association of Namibia in the fight against cancer. Subsequently, the proceeds from the 10 km, 21 km, and 42 km races will be donated to the Swakop Striders Athletics Club, in support of the development of local and especially less-privileged athletes".

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