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 in nature and requires stamina as well as mental strength. Within endurance running comes two d ...

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 di ...

at the 2012 Summer Olympics 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 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. In 2012, she married South African hurdler

L. J. van Zyl Louis Jacobus van Zyl (born 20 July 1985), better known as L. J. van Zyl, is a South African athlete competing in the 400 metre hurdles. He is the South African record holder in the event with a personal best of 47.66 seconds, which he ach ...

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 Zevenheuvelenloop 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 Athle ...

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 independence from Indonesia and ...

, 16th in

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

, 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 (dwarf planet), Er ...

.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, S ...

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 ra ...

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 A cape is a clothing accessory or a sleeveless outer garment which drapes the wearer's back, arms, and chest, and connects at the neck. History Capes were common in medieval Europe, especially when combined with a hood in the chaperon. The ...

(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 ...

. 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. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape ...

in 2008. She marked her return to the top level of athletics 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 2010 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships, 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 branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends eastward into the foot ...

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 larges ...

, 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 or ...

and a runner-up finish at the Two Oceans Half Marathon. 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 2012 Summer Olympics 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 Alyson Dixon (born 24 September in Sunderland) is an English long-distance runner. Athletic career Dixon won the 2011 Brighton Marathon. She competed for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, but did not finish due to an Achilles tendon inju ...

'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 sta ...

– 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 di ...

– 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