It’s a pity the half marathon is not an Olympic Event says four time world record holder Elana Meyer

South Africa’s Elana Meyer was a pioneer of the half marathon. She set four world records for the distance, and in 1994 she became the first African woman to win a world half marathon title. Meyer’s deep-rooted passion for the half marathon distance began early. At age 13 Elana ran her first half marathon. Describing herself as “unprepared”, she nonetheless ran a hugely impressive 1:27. Meyer emerged on the global scene at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when she became the poster-girl of a new post-apartheid era for South Africa. The image of her as the Olympic 10,000m silver medallist hand-in-hand with gold medallist Derartu Tulu remains one of the most symbolic athletics images of its time. But her favorite event was the half marathon. In 1999 Meyer arguably achieved the high point of her career when setting a world half marathon record of 1:06:44 in Tokyo. Meyer (now 51) retired in 2004 at the age of 37. Today a mother-of-two, Christopher, 10, and Ené, 7, she can look back on a proud and accomplished endurance career which brought success on all surfaces and at a range of distances. But there is no doubt what was her favorite distance. “Of all the events, the half marathon was the one which came easiest to me,” says Meyer. “It’s a pity the half marathon wasn’t an Olympic event.”

posted Saturday March 17th