Irvette van Zyl (born 5 July 1987) is a South African

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

and women's 50km

ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

world record holder. She competed in the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

but did not finish the race. She has twice participated in the

London Marathon The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held ...

and set her previous best time of 2:31:26 hours there in 2013. In 2021 she improved this time by almost 3 minutes to 2:28:40 at the Xiamen Marathon in Siena, Italy and again in 2022 by more than 2 minutes to 2:26:11 at the Valencia Marathon in Spain. She began running from a young age, winning the

Zevenheuvelenloop Zevenheuvelenloop (''Seven Hills Run'' in English) is an annual 15 kilometres road running race held in Nijmegen, Netherlands. It was first organised in 1984 and has grown to be one of the largest road races in the Netherlands;van Hemert, Wim & T ...

at age fifteen and running as a junior for South Africa three times at the

IAAF World Cross Country Championships World Athletics Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Formerly held annually and organised by World Athletics (formerly the IAAF), it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the Int ...

. She represented her country at the

2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships The 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held in Nanning, China on 16 October 2010. The competition took place on the city streets, beginning and ending at Wuxiang Square, with a total prize purse of US$245,000 at stake. The Kenyan ...

. In 2012, she married South African

hurdler Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

L. J. van Zyl.

Career

Born in

Sandton Sandton is an upscale commercial and residential district north of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. The name of the city came from the combination of two of its suburbs, ...

, South Africa, her first major win came at the

in 2002, where at the age of fifteen she won the high-profile 15K race while on holiday in the Netherlands. In 2003, she won the national junior title over

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

and set a personal best of 4:17.49 minutes.Irvette van Zyl
Tilastopaja. Retrieved 22 April 2013. She competed three times in the junior race at the

, coming 18th in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

, 16th in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...

, and 26th in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

.Irvette van Blerk – van Zyl
IAAF. Retrieved 22 April 2013. She was runner-up at

10K run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

s in

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

and

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

in 2003. In 2004, she ran a

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

best of 9:29.78 minutes to win at the Dutch

Golden Spike The golden spike (also known as The Last Spike) is the ceremonial 17.6-karat gold final spike driven by Leland Stanford to join the rails of the first transcontinental railroad across the United States connecting the Central Pacific Railroad ...

meeting. She also set a

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

best of 34:19.54 minutes, placing second at the national championships. On the roads that year, she again set new bests, winning the Cape Town 10K (33:12 min) and the Bedfordview

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

(75:49 min). She competed sparingly from 2005 to 2007, during which time she studied at the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg (UJ) is a public university located in Johannesburg, South Africa. The University of Johannesburg came into existence on 1 January 2005 as the result of a merger between the Rand Afrikaans University (RAU), the Te ...

. She finally improved on her 2004 half marathon best with a run of 75:41 hours in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

in 2008. She marked her return to the top level of

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competiti ...

with a 10,000 m win at the 2009 South African championships. She won national titles in the 10K road and track distances. A win at the national half marathon championships in a personal best of 71:09 minutes earned her a spot at the

, where on her senior international debut, she came 49th overall. The 2011 season saw her emerge as an elite level road runner. She dominated the 10K nationally, repeating her South African title win, taking victories in Durban,

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

and

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, and ending the year with a best of 32:50 minutes for the distance. She also raced extensively in the half marathon, with highlights being a best of 70:56 minutes for eighth at the

New York City Half Marathon The New York City Half Marathon (branded as the United Airlines NYC Half) is an annual half marathon road running race from Brooklyn's Prospect Park to Manhattan's Central Park via the Manhattan Bridge, held since 2006. It passes through o ...

and a runner-up finish at the

Two Oceans Half Marathon The Two Oceans Marathon is a 56 km / 35-mile ultramarathon and 21 km half-marathon held annually in Cape Town, South Africa on the Saturday of the Easter weekend. Known globally as "the world's most beautiful marathon",Hamlett, Alison ...

. Van Zyl made her

debut at the

2012 London Marathon The 2012 London Marathon was the 32nd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 22 April. Both of the elite races were won by Kenyan athletes, and Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede was the only non-Kenyan to re ...

, and her time of 2:33:41 brought her 18th place and spot on the South African team for the

in London. However, she failed to finish at the women's Olympic marathon on her return to the city in August. Van Zyl began 2013 with a four-win streak in South African half marathons. She placed tenth at the

2013 London Marathon The 2013 London Marathon was the 33rd running of the annual marathon race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 21 April. The men's elite race was won by Ethiopia's Tsegaye Kebede and the women's race was won by Kenyan Priscah Jeptoo ...

, completing the distance in a time of 2:31:26 hours. She ran her best time of 2:28:40 at the 2021 Xiamen Tuscany Camp Elite Marathon in Siena, Italy. In May 2021, she broke the world record for the women's 50km

with a time of 3:04:23, beating the previous holder Alyson Dixon's record by almost three minutes.

Personal bests

– 4:17.49 (2003) *

– 9:11.51 (2016) *

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

– 16:02.63 (2016) *

– 34:19.54 (2004) *

Half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

– 1:11:00 (2016) *

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

– 2:26:11 (2022) *50km

Ultramarathon An ultramarathon, also called ultra distance or ultra running, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of . Various distances are raced competitively, from the shortest common ultramarathon of to over . 50k and 100k are bot ...

– 3:04:23 (2021) WR

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:van Zyl, Irvette 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from Johannesburg South African female long-distance runners South African female marathon runners Olympic athletes of South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics