Elroy Gelant produced a superb effort on Sunday, breaking the 31-year-old South African men's marathon record in Hamburg, Germany.
Gelant took fourth place at the Hamburg Marathon, completing the 42.2km race in 2:05:36.
The 38-year-old athlete, a former South African record holder over the 5 000m distance on the track, ripped nearly a full minute off the national record set by Gert Thys in Tokyo in 1999.
History made! 🇿🇦
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) April 27, 2025
Elroy Gelant smashes the South African marathon record at the Hamburg Marathon, clocking 2:05:36 and taking fourth place!
He wipes 57 seconds off the national record that had stood since 1999. Legendary! 🔥#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #MarathonRecord pic.twitter.com/g1j8NHlFoy
Gelant, who obliterated his personal best of 2:08:56, also qualified for the marathon race at the World Athletics Championships to be held in Tokyo in September, dipping under the required standard of 2:06:30.
Kenyan athlete Amos Kipruto won the men's race at the Hamburg Marathon in 2:03:46.
"Well done to Elroy, his coach and support staff," said James Moloi, the President of Athletics South Africa.
"He continues to dominate the distance. We congratulate him for also qualifying for Tokyo."