Walvis Bay running stalwart Tangeni dies at 77
Veteran Namibian long-distance runner Bob “Marathon” Tangeni has died at the age of 77.
His death was confirmed at a press conference in Windhoek on Tuesday by Kunene senior sports officer Berthold “BK” Karumendu, who said the Walvis Bay running stalwart died last weekend.
Born on 27 July 1948, Tangeni would have turned 78 on Monday. He built one of the country’s most enduring masters road-running records, with documented results spanning at least the mid-1990s to 2011.
He was a regular winner and podium finisher in the masters and grandmasters categories at several local leading road-running events.
Tangeni also distinguished himself beyond borders, completing South Africa’s demanding 56km Two Oceans ultra-marathon 13 times between 1996 and 2011 and securing four age-category podium finishes.
The last of Tangeni’s four documented Two Oceans Marathon age-category podiums came on 23 April 2011, when, at the age of 62, he completed the 42nd edition of the gruelling 56km ultra-marathon in Cape Town in 4:47:12 to finish third in the men’s 60 to 69 age group.
