Malawian athletes delivered solid performances at the African Union Sports Council (AUSC) Region 5 Half Marathon held in Pretoria, South Africa, over the weekend.

A total of 5,263 athletes from 12 countries participated in the sixth edition of the regional competition, which featured both 21 kilometres (km) and 10km races.

Malawian long-distance runner Brave Mwaphande finished 12th with a time of 1:08:49 in the 21km race whereas Fostina Mbemba secured position 73 in the women’s category after clocking 1:27:32.

Another Malawian runner, Chikondi Mwanyali, finished 18th in the men’s category with a time of 31:23 in the 10km race whereas Enipher Kaponda came 72nd in the women’s category, clocking 37:59.

Athletics Malawi (AM) General Secretary Nicholas Kanyenda said the association was delighted with the athletes’ performance.

“Our athletes did well in as far as competition is concerned. The athletes showed great capabilities. Finishing on those positions is really amazing,” Kanyenda said.

Kanyenda appealed to the corporate world to assist them as athletes prepare for upcoming events.

“We wanted to send 10 athletes but, due to resource constraints, we only managed to send four. We appeal to the corporate world to support us so that we send more athletes to get more medals for Malawi,” he said.

He hailed the Malawi National Council of Sports for offering support.

Local athletes are expected to take part in the upcoming Region 5 Youth Games from December 4 to 14 in Maputo, Mozambique.

Meanwhile, South Africa’s Bennet Seloyi and Namibia’s Lavinia Haitope emerged victorious in the men’s and women’s 21km category, respectively.

Seloyi won the men’s race in 1:04:39 while Haitope claimed the women’s tile in 1:14:41.