Alexandra Morozova said she was so determined to excel in Sunday’s return of the Comrades Marathon that she had to go the ‘inconvenient’ court route to keep her place in the field.

After taking a significant step higher than her two previous runner-up positions, the seasoned Russian runner was in an emotional state — in contrast to men’s champion Tete Dijana simply ‘feeling great’ about his own achievement in the ultra-marathon between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.

Morozova won the roughly 90 km challenge in a time of six hours, 17 minutes and 47 seconds in being rated an ‘International’ on the day, and was followed home by Nedbank’s Dominika Stelmach from Poland in 6:25,08 and South African novice Adele Broodryk (Murray & Roberts) in 6:26,34.

But Morozova,s entry was initially cancelled by the Comrades Marathon Association on Thursday due to a World Athletics ban linked to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

However, she took the matter to court on Friday and was successfully reinstated on Saturday.

She said after her hard-earned victory at the Moses Mabhida Stadium on Sunday: “I very, very happy to get this result. Apologies for any inconveniences before the race. I appreciate the support I got here. The last 10 km was tough, but I had been running faster than expected and just decided to keep doing my best until the finish. I will definitely come back to Comrades. It is a special race. There is nothing like it anywhere in the world, except I prefer the up run.”

She was among just over 14 500 runners from 72 countries who had qualified for the race from nearly 16 000 entries received by the officials.

American star Camille Herron, the 2017 winner, settled for sixth spot on this occasion in 6:44,29, while 2018 champion Ann Ashworth (Hollywoodbets) failed before the halfway mark.

In the men’s section, Rustenburg-based security guard Dijana finished ahead of reigning champ Edward Mothibi and novice Dan Moselakwe in a one-two-three finish for the powerful Nedbank Running Club.

Dijana clocked 5:30,37 as the popular sporting event returned after a two-year hiatus caused by Covid-19.

The 33-year-old Dijana’s only other Comrades experience came in 2019, when he finished 50th in 6:25,03.

He said: “I feel great. I can’t believe I won Comrades. Anything can happen along the route, so I tried to be careful, I tried to maintain the pace, but I grew more confident once I entered the stadium. The reception from the crowd was great.”

His training partners Mothibi and Moselakwe clocked 5:33,45 and 5:36,24 respectively, while three-time Comrades winner Bongmusa Mthembu (Arthur Ford) came fourth in 5:38,06.

But 2015 champ Gift Kelehe was a spectator at the former Fifa World Cup venue in Durban on Sunday, saying the race’s prize money was not worth the sweat.

First place was worth R260 000 for men and women, second place R130 000 and third place R90 000. In addition, gold medals valued at around R30 000 were awarded to the top 10 finishers, as usual.

There was arguably a more gratifying vibe among non-elite runners, and the last person to make the 12-hour cut-off was a very relieved Winston Mashele. He said a Covid-19 enforced lack of training had made the race even tougher than usual but he was happy to be among the thousands of finishers.

This was the 95th edition of the ultra-marathon and 47th down run.

Next year’s Comrades will also be a down run, followed by an up run in the opposite direction the following year, according to the Comrades Marathon Association.

Selected results: 

Men
1. Tete Dijana (Nedbank) 5:30,37
2. Edward Mothibi (Nedbank) 5:33,45
3. Dan Moselakwe (Nedbank) 5:36,24
4. Bongmusa Mthembu (Arthur Ford) 5:38,06
5. Johannes Makgetla (Nedbank) 5:41,36
Women
1. Alexandra Morozova (International) 6:17,47
2. Dominika Stelmach (Nedbank) 6:25,08
3. Adele Broodryk (Murray & Roberts) 6:26,34
4. Jenna Challenor (Murray & Roberts) 6:42,14
5. Galaletsang Mekgoe (Nedbank) 6:42,53