Hendrik Ramaala (born 2 February 1972) is a South African long-distance runner.

Biography

Education

Ramaala is a law graduate from the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

. He matriculated at St. Bede's secondary school in Ga Molepo area, Polokwane. For his primary education, he went to Subiaco primary in Ga Molepo. His inspiration, Karen from

Mitchells Plain Mitchells Plain is a large township located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multiple smaller subu ...

, has given him the success that he has today.

Running career

Ramaala holds the South African 10,000 m record of 27:29.94 which he set in Port Elizabeth on 22 February 1999. He won the 2004

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor (commercial), sponsor) is an annual Marathon (sport), marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest mar ...

and 2004

Mumbai Marathon The Mumbai Marathon (known as the Tata Mumbai Marathon for sponsorship reasons by Tata Group), is an annual international marathon held in Mumbai, India, on the third Sunday of January every year. It is the largest marathon in Asia as well as th ...

. He also has two silver medals from the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in 1998 and 1999. In 2006 he also won the men's

Great North Great North (''Grande Nord'', GN) is a liberal, regionalist, federalist and somewhat separatist political party, based in Northern Italy. The party proposes federalism and liberal economics, aimed at reducing "the size of the state in order to ...

and South Runs He is a two-time national champion in the 5.000 metres. Other competition wins include the Belgrade Race Through History in 1997,Butcher, Pat (1999-10-13)
Fita Bayissa wins Belgrade Race Through History

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...

. Retrieved on 2009-10-15. the Marseille-Cassis Classique Internationale in 1998,Historique Il était une fois …
. Marseille-Cassis. Retrieved on 2009-10-22. the

Lisbon Half Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon is an annual international half marathon competition which is contested every March in Lisbon, Portugal. It carries IAAF Gold Label Road Race status. The men's course record of 57:31 was set by Jacob Kiplimo in 2021, whic ...

in 2001 and the

Portugal Half Marathon Luso Portugal Half Marathon or Luso Meia Maratona de Portugal is an annual half marathon contested every October in Lisbon, Portugal. A new, faster course was established for the race in 2010 and 25 km record holder Mary Keitany duly respond ...

in 2003. He has also competed in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open cou ...

and won the

Belfast International Cross Country The Antrim International Cross Country, formerly the Belfast International Cross Country, is an annual cross country running meeting which takes place every January in Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is one of the IAAF's cross country permit meeti ...

meeting in 1999.

Achievements

Hendrick Ramaala Sports Foundation

Olympian Henrick Ramaala has established a non-profit sports foundation called the Hendrick Ramaala Sport Foundation.Hendrick Ramaala Sports Foundation. 2021. "About HRSF". https://www.hendrickramaalasportsfoundation.org.za/about-hrsf (accessed 12 May 2021). The foundation's mission is to promote South African distance running to the world. The foundation is based in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

, where young best middle and long distance South African runners are taken care of in terms of everyday living needs, coaching and training. The foundation's training sessions take place at

Zoo Lake Zoo Lake is a popular lake and public park in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is part of the ''Hermann Eckstein Park'' and is opposite the Johannesburg Zoo. The Zoo Lake consists of two dams, an upper feeder dam, and a larger lower dam, both constru ...

, and Wits University sports grounds in

References

External links

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TheFinalSprint.com Podcast (Episode #71): Interview with South African running legend Hendrick RamaalaSouth African senior recordsNew York Times Interview

1972 births Living people South African male long-distance runners South African male marathon runners Athletes (track and field) at the 1996 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2000 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of South Africa New York City Marathon male winners {{SouthAfrica-athletics-bio-stub