A South African long-distance runner from Ceres, Adriaan Wildschutt, has made history after becoming the first South African to win the New York City Half Marathon.
The Team SA Olympian crossed the finish line in 59 minutes and 30 seconds during his first attempt at the 21km distance.
Adriaan Wildschutt – record-breaking South African professional runner pic.twitter.com/VKr6ifUIdG
— KG (@Khanyisa_Gadla) March 15, 2026
Wildschutt previously competed in the 10,000m at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The race saw more than 30,000 athletes take to the streets of New York City on Sunday morning for the 21.1km park-to-park course.
Team South Africa detailed Wildschutt’s run, describing it as “smart conservative race”.
“He kept himself within the pack for the first 10km before making a decisive move after halfway and taking the sole lead at 15km, eventually opening up an 11-second advantage at 20km over the USA’s Zouhair Talbi and maintaining that lead all the way to the finish,” said Team South Africa.
In a truly world-class performance, Adriaan Wildschutt made history as the first South African to win this iconic race. Making his 21 km debut, Wildschutt clocked an incredible 59:30, pulling away from the pack after the 15 km mark to finish 11 seconds clear of the field.
Huge… pic.twitter.com/ituuwnFyuN
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) March 16, 2026
After securing the historic victory, Wildschutt told Team South Africa that he could tell that he was doing well and just kept going.
“I was like ‘at some point I’m going to get up the bridge and make a big surge down the hill.’ After the downhill, you get a hill again, so I wanted to keep pushing.”
He also took to social media to describe the race as an unforgettable experience on the streets of New York City.
Wildschutt, who hails from the Western Cape town of Ceres, is currently based in Arizona in the United States after studying at Florida State University.
He’s also the subject of a short film, Change of Pace, which shares more about Wildschutt and his journey. He’s described by his peers as “inspiring”.
