Africa’s extraordinary distance running prowess: South Africans dominate the 96th Comrades Marathon

Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn defied the odds to set new records at Africa’s biggest – and best-known – ultra-marathon.

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South Africans Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn shattered records and set new ones and, in the process, showed off Africa’s capacity for extraordinary distance running performances at the highly rated 2023 Comrades Marathon on Sunday (June 11).

The race on Sunday, June 11, 2023, attracted over 17,000 passionate runners who embarked on the gruelling 87 km challenge.

Starting from the iconic Pietermaritzburg City Hall and culminating at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium in the coastal city of Durban, more than 2300 international athletes participated in this 96th edition.

In a breathtaking display of sheer determination and athleticism, Tete Dijana claimed a sensational second consecutive victory. The feat means he has won both the “uphill” (Durban to Pietermaritzburg) and “downhill” (Pietermaritzburg to Durban) runs in consecutive years.

The 34-year-old blazed across the finish line in an astonishing record of 5 hours, 13 minutes, and 58 seconds, crushing David Gatebe’s 2019 best time of 5:18:19 by over 4 minutes.

Dijana’s Nedbank running club teammate, Piet Wiersma, pushed him to his limits, resulting in a nail-biting finish with a mere 2.23 seconds separating the two runners.

In 2022, Dijana had a comfortable three-minute lead, but this year he had to dig deep, finding the spirit needed to defend his ultra-marathon crown.

Steyn carried the women’s category after she crossed the finish line in 5 hours, 44 minutes and 56 seconds, shattering Frith Van der Merwe’s 34-year-old record by almost 10 minutes.

Despite Sunday’s race being 1.9km shorter than the 1989 edition, Steyn displayed complete command of the course, finishing more than eleven-and-a-half minutes ahead of second-place Adele Broodryk.

Steyn, the reigning women’s champion of the 56-km Two Oceans Marathon held just two months before Comrades, had plenty of expectant eyes watching her performance.

In 2019, Steyn became the first woman to complete the Comrades “up” run in less than 6 hours, securing a famous win in that edition.

The Phantane Athletics Club member, who missed the 2022 edition, used the 2023 race to cement her legacy as one of the country’s best runners ever. Steyn also became the first woman from the province of KwaZulu-Natal to conquer the illustrious marathon, which has a history of over 100 years.

The winners took home more than R4.31-million (US$125,000), a 90% increase on last year’s purse.

Elsewhere, legend Wally Hayward’s record as the oldest person to complete the race crumbled spectacularly.

This is after 81-year-old Johannes Maros Mosehla crossed the finish line in his 10th attempt in a record time of 9:26:10, about one and a half minutes faster than 80-year-old Hayward’s 10:58:03 in 1989.

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