Hollywood AC Stars Shine at Comrades 2024
The Hollywood Athletics Club’s athletes put in some spectacular performances in the 2024 Comrades Marathon. The likes of Carla Molinaro, Loveness Madziva, Sikhumbuzo Seme and Nkosikhona Mhlakwana grabbing top-20 finishes. But the Club also produced a staggering 900 finishers.
Hollywoodbets Elite Runner Carla Molinaro delivered an amazing performance to clock a time of 06:12:01, taking fourth position in the 97th edition of Comrades Marathon on Sunday 9 June at Hollywoodbets Scottville Stadium in Pietermaritzburg. Molinaro, who in the past had obtained two Bill Rowan medals in the up runs in which she participated, made her intentions from the start of the race by sticking to the leading batch of athletes.
The 39-year-old World 50k Champion had not dipped under 7 hours but on the day she delivered the club’s first-ever Women’s Comrades Gold Medal. For her wonderful effort she pocketed a total fee of R148 500. Speaking after the race, the Cape Town resident was delighted with her result as she says the race was fast.
“I’m happy with the performance overall. I didn’t have a gold medal in the up run which is something I have been searching for. To finally get it, it means a lot to me. I think on the day everything worked perfectly on the road. I think the preparations were much better this time around. The race was fast as the girls in the field made their intentions clear that they were hungry for the title. That bought much-needed competition which is a good thing,” she said
Meanwhile Loveness Madziva, on her debut up, run managed to clock 06:34:27 to finish inside the top 20 in the women’s field. The 33-year-old Zimbabwean runner ran the first half of the race perfectly but had to deal with cramps in closing stages. In the men’s race, Sikhumbuzo Seme was the club’s standout performer for the second consecutive year. Seme, who finished in 11th Position last year, put out a spirited 05:44:19 performance on his way to finish 17th overall.
Comrades Gold Medalist Nkosikhona Mhlakwana suffered cramps in the latter stages of the race losing out on a top-10 finish, eventually settling for 19th overall. Nevertheless, Mhlakwana was strong enough to finish the race. Mahlomola Sekhonyana, Jane Mhlakwana and Thobani Chagwe all managed to dip under six hours as they finished 25th, 31st and 33rd respectively. Musawenkosi Mthalane impressed on his debut after finishing 50th overall