Progress against the field
From Cape Town 1 2026 to Cape Town 2026, Hennie Van Niekerk got 3:50 faster than the field.
The clock says 8:39 faster, but the races themselves got 4:49 quicker for everyone.
The largest gain on the field came from Johannesburg 2026 → Cape Town 2026: 5:25 in 76 days.
How this is worked out ⓘ
A finish time moves for two reasons: the athlete, and the race — its course, its floor, its day. For each pair of races in a row in one category, we take everyone who raced both and use the middle of how much they moved (the median) as "the race". Whatever is left is the athlete. Doubles are compared only when the same two people raced both, and told as the pair's; relays are left out. A pair with fewer than 15 athletes in common is not shown.
Every race
3 races · 3 events
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Cape Town14 Aug 2026Individual Pro · Men1:07:06 PB23/178Beat 87%
↑ 76 days after Johannesburg 2026 5:25 better than the field Why ↓Close ↑
10:30 faster on the clock, and the race was 5:05 faster for everyone, so 5:25 of it was this athlete.
The fieldCompare these two →5:05 faster This athlete10:30 faster -
Johannesburg30 May 2026Individual Pro · Men1:17:3627/131Beat 79%
↑ 57 days after Cape Town 1 2026 1:35 worse than the field Why ↓Close ↑
1:51 slower on the clock in a race that was 0:16 slower for everyone: 1:35 lost to the field.
The fieldCompare these two →0:16 slower This athlete1:51 slower -
Cape Town 13 Apr 2026Individual Pro · Men1:15:4551/191Beat 73%