/ 23 December 1997

Morapedi hits a new high

TUESDAY, 10.30AM:

NATIONAL 10km champion John Morapedi overcame jetlag, high temparatures and high altitude to produce one of his most impressive performances in winning the Cali 10,4km road race in Colombia on Sunday.

The Pretoria runner clocked a speedy 29 minutes 34 seconds, less than a day after making the 45-hour flight from Johannesburg. In achieving voctory, Morapedi outran three Olympic 10 000m runners and former Tokyo half-marathon champ Armando Quintinilla of Mexico, who finished fifth. Angolan Joao Ntyamba came second.

Morapedi now heads for Sao Paulo, Brazil, where he will join national half-marathon record holder Hendrick Ramaala for a 15km road race on December 31.