Lesotho’s Joseph Seotlali and Kenya’s Margaret Jepchumba were crowned champions of the 2025 Soweto Marathon on Saturday after battling through persistent rain to claim victory in the men’s and women’s 42 km races respectively.
Seotlali crossed the finish line, winning time of 2:20:09, holding off a fast-finishing South African duo in one of the closest elite races in recent years.
Local favourite Ntsindiso Mphakathi delighted the home crowd by taking silver in 2:20:24, just 15 seconds behind the winner, while defending champion Onalenna Khonkhobe (North West) secured bronze in 2:20:39.
In the women’s race, Margaret Jepchumba produced a dominant performance to win in 2:34:33. Zambia’s Elizabeth Moloba ran a strong race for second place in 2:35:59, with South African marathon star Gerda Steyn completing the podium in 2:37:00.
Speaking shortly after his victory, an emotional Seotlali said: “I’m so happy to win. I want to thank my coach, my team and my family for their support.”
Jepchumba, who admitted the wet and cold conditions made the race tougher than the previous year’s high humidity, was equally delighted. “I’m so happy to win the Soweto Marathon. I had a lot of challenges with the rain – it was not like last year. Last year the humidity was too high; this year it was raining,” she said.
Despite the heavy downpour that greeted runners from the start in the early hours, thousands of participants completed the full marathon, half marathon and 10 km events, cementing the Soweto Marathon’s reputation as one of South Africa’s most iconic road races.
2025 Soweto Marathon – Elite Results
Men
- Joseph Seotlali (Lesotho) – 2:20:09
- Ntsindiso Mphakathi (RSA) – 2:20:24
- Onalenna Khonkhobe (RSA) – 2:20:39
Women
- Margaret Jepchumba (Kenya) – 2:34:33
- Elizabeth Moloba (Zambia) – 2:35:59
- Gerda Steyn (RSA) – 2:37:00
