The Russian makes a come-back to arguably the world’s greatest ultra-marathon, slated for June 3. He presents the biggest threat to Muzhingi’s hopes of a fourth straight crown.
But Muzhingi said this week that he was not worried about the runner he beat in 2009.
“There is no pressure at all. If anything, after resting for two years, it is Mr Shvetsov who is under pressure. I am feeling good, I am prepared and I am focused on my victory,” said Muzhingi.
Shvetsov, an Olympic marathoner and former Russian national record-holder, was victorious in the 2007 and 2008 editions of The Ultimate Human Race, with four gold medals and a silver to his credit.
The 42-year-old athlete broke the Comrades’ ‘down-run’ record in 2007, in a time of 5 hrs 20 min 49 sec, cancelling the 1986 feat of the event’s most successful runner, South African Bruce Fordyce. He also set a new standard of 5:24:49 for an ‘up-run’ the following year and his return, against Muzhingi’s quest to match the Russian’s record of four wins, have led to organisers billing this year’s edition as the “Rumble in the Jungle.”
About 18 000 athletes are expected to race in the annual 90 km-marathon between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. This year’s edition is the 87th.
Post published in: Athletics