13 000 vie for Cape Town Marathon glory | Who to watch out for

This year's iconic Cape Town Marathon is expected to see 13 000 runners from across the country and the world participate in the 42.2km race set for Sunday.

The Cape Town Marathon sees a new route designed in order to accommodate wheelchair athletes. Former SA Paralympic champion Ernst van Dyk will finally have the opportunity to race in front of a home crowd as he takes part in the inaugural wheelchair event. 

It's also the first year as part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors alongside six of the world's largest and most renowned marathons. 

For the Cape Town Marathon to achieve its Major status and join the likes of the Boston Marathon, it needs to have 15 000 runners finish the 42.2km race. 

READ | Ready, set, go! Runners set sights on Sanlam Cape Town Marathon

However, organisers are expecting 13 000 runners to complete this year and are hoping that it grows in its three-year candidacy race.

In 2022, five percent of marathon runners reside outside of South Africa, coming from 70 countries, with 80 athletes coming from the United States of America.

News24 Sport takes a look at some of the elite runners to look out for in this weekend's Cape Town Marathon:

Men

Stephen Mokoka

Mokoka will be defending his title and flying the South African flag as one of the favourites heading into this weekend's festivities.

The three-Olympian set a Cape Town Marathon record of 2:08.31 in 2018, and it's yet to be replicated.

In March this year, Mokoka broke the 50km men's world record at the Nedbank Runified Breaking Barriers Ultra Marathon in Gqeberha, setting a time of 2:40:13, which World Athletics recognised.

The 37-year-old will be eyeing his third Cape Town Marathon in the revised route on Sunday.

Gebretsadik Abraha

Abraha hails from Ethiopia,