MORE than 16 000 athletes from around the world competed in the 2014 Comrades on Sunday 1 June, but it was a local who set South African pulses racing when he claimed his first Comrades victory.

South Africans and KwaZulu-Natal residents alike were thrilled as Bongmusa Mthembu   seized the top spot at the annual ultramarathon when he crossed the finish line at Kingsmead, Durban at a time of (5:28:34).

Mthembu was followed by Ludwick Mamabolo (5:33:14) and Gift Kelehe (5:34:39). A total of eight South African runners scored a spot in the top 10 of the men’s race.

Eleanor Greenwood (6:18:15), from the United Kingdom, was the first woman to cross the finish line. The Russian twins, Elena (6:23:18) and Olesya Nurgalieva (624:51) took second and third place in the woman’s section.

Caroline Wostmann (6:51:43) was the 6th woman and also the first South African woman to complete the 89km iconic race.

South Africans also swelled with pride as the legendary athlete, Zola Budd Pieterse (6:55:55), gracefully completed the marathon in 7th place. Budd dedicated her Comrades run to Pierre Korkie, who is still being held hostage in Yemen.