Chirwa wins 5th Marathon
Nalicy Chirwa on Saturday won the women’s category of the Blantyre 42.195km Race for the fifth consecutive time while Mphatso Nadolo finally grabbed the men’s title after years of struggles.
For their successes in the sixth edition of the competition, which the Malawi National Council of Sports organised, the two received K1.5 million each.
Chirwa said it was a wonderful feeling to defend the title for the fifth time in six editions, having only missed glory in the inaugural edition in 2018 when she claimed the third place.
On Saturday, the 26-year-old crossed the finish line in 2:57.00 hours to beat 19 other contestants.
She was five minutes faster than her runner-up Tereza Master, who was the inaugural champion in 2018, and seven minutes better than third-placed Doris Fisher.
“I am really excited to have defended the title with an improved time,” said Chirwa.
In the 78-contestant men’s category, Nadolo secured victory in 2:22.00 hrs.
He was two minutes faster than his runner-up Ndacha Mcherenje, who has retained his position and was four minutes better than third-positioned previous champion Grevazio Mpani.
Last year, Nadolo was third in 2:26.58 hrs while in 2022, he was disqualified for breaching the competition’s rules.
“I came here not only to compete, but to prove that my failures in the previous editions were due to mere misfortunes. From this moment on, I will always win this title,” he said.
The 30-year-old added that the event has helped him to prepare for the 2024 Soweto Marathon in South Africa in November.
In 10km event, Chikondi Mwanyali plucked the 61-athlete men’s category title while Moneyi Chingaipe did it in the women’s section. Bonwell Chitsonga triumphed in men’s 5km contest as Mirriam Kachingwe did the same in the women’s division.
Spor ts Council board chairperson Sunduzwayo Madise said he was happy that the number of contestants almost doubled to 244 as compared to the previous edition.
“As council, I believe we have done well as we have seen numbers of participants improving. We are very pleased with this edition and we hope to do much better in future events,” he said.
Athletics Malawi president Kondwani Chamwala said they are grateful to Sports Council for giving athletes a platform to showcase their talent.
The event was also patronised by Blantyre City Mayor Joseph Makwinja, his deputy Isaac Jomo Osman, Senior Chief Kapeni, director of sports in the Ministry of Sports Jameson Ndalama and Sports Council chief executive officer Henry Kamata.
The race enjoyed support from corporate partners Rab Processors, Precious Medical International, Malawi School of Government, Kamuzu University of Health Sciences, Namadzi Bottlers and Malawi Broadcasting Corporation.
