South Africa’s Tete Dijana won his second successive Comrades Marathon title on Sunday, crossing the finish line at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium in a time of 05:13:58 in a new course record.

The 34-year-old was considered a race favourite ahead of this year’s marathon in what was only his third Comrades Marathon.

He is only the 18th male runner to win the Comrades Marathon more than once.

Fellow Nedbank Running Club member Piet Wiersma from The Netherlands put him under immense pressure right until the finish line but ultimately settled for second in a time of 05:14:01.

The 2019 champion, Edward Mothibi, finished third.

South Africa’s Gerda Steyn, already the record holder of the Up Run time, secured the women’s crown.

She also set a new course record in the Down Run finishing in a time of 05:44:54.

The 96th Comrades Marathon saw thousands of athletes take off from Pietermaritzburg to Durban this morning.

Race officials measured and confirmed the official distance of this year’s Comrades Marathon Down Run at 87.7km.

The lion’s share of this year’s entries hail from Gauteng, followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape.