1995

Four-and-a-half miles into the 23rd annual Honolulu Marathon yesterday morning, Josiah Thungwane of South Africa put on a bold - but seemingly mad and suicidal - sprint.

But Thungwane wasn't suicidal. He was just hungry. The thought of scoring his first major international victory and winning $20,000 or more had whetted the appetite of the 25-year-old coal mine worker.

In 2 hours, 16 minutes, 8 seconds yesterday, Thungwane won as much money as he earns in the coal mines in about four years.

But it was two-plus hours of arduous toil. Numerous times over the final four miles, the diminutive South African had to dig deep and fight off the challenges of defending champion and three-time winner Benson Masya of Kenya.

As the two matched strides while leaving Diamond Head and entering Kapiolani Park, Thungwane pushed ahead slightly. It did come down to the final 200 meters ... then the final 100 meters ... then the final 50 meters. Thungwane dug deep, floored the accelerator, and got the jump. Masya could not respond. In fact, he slowed to a trot and crossed the finish line 11 seconds behind Thungwane.

Colleen De Reuck made it a banner day for South Africa as she captured the women's race, finishing 27th overall in 2:37:29. She was followed by Veronica Kanga of Kenya at 2:39:35. Defending champion and eight-time winner Carla Beurskens finished third, nearly five minutes behind De Reuck, ending her incredible streak of eight victories in 10 years. It was the first time Beurskens entered the Honolulu Marathon and did not win.

It was the hottest Honolulu Marathon in history - a muggy 88 degrees - and the largest. More than 27,000 runners finished the race surpassing New York City as world's largest marathon for 1995.