The management of the Comrades marathon Association (CMA) has confirmed that two athletes who took part in the famous ultra-marathon on Sunday have died after developing health problems during the race.

CMA Race Doctor, Dr Jeremy Boulter confirmed that Phakamile Ntshiza (Race No. 53126) and Mzameleni Mthembu (Race No. 56904) had passed away. He has conveyed his condolences to the families and friends of the deceased.

Mthembu, an athlete from Durban, had suffered a heart attack whilst running along the Pinetown stretch of the Comrades route. He was taken to the Westville Hospital, where he later passed away.

Ntshiza had reportedly passed away before he could be transported to hospital while running close to the halfway mark.

Viwe Mtshontshi, spokesperson for the Adventist Athletics Club in the east of Pretoria, confirmed to Rekord that Ntshiza was a member of their club and participated in their colours. According to her, it was his first Comrades marathon, although he was a seasoned athlete with several standard marathons under his belt.

“Phaks, as he was known to us at the club, was very popular with fellow club members. We knew him as a particularly positive and deeply religious family man. He also had a fondness for football and enjoyed playing football with his two boys,” said Mtshontshi.

She said the club’s members were shocked and stunned when they learned of his death, as he was one of the fittest members of the club.

“He cheered everyone up the morning before the start and showed no signs of anything being wrong,” she concluded.

The CMA also confirmed that a total of 74 runners had been transported to hospital – 41 to St Augustine’s and 33 to Netcare Umhlanga – after Comrades shut its medical facilities at 20:00 on Sunday night. Of those, two athletes were still in ICU by late yesterday afternoon. One was still on a ventilator.

* Meanwhile, another local athlete from Pretoria and former women’s winner of the Comrades, Charné Bosman, also encountered adversity on the route on Sunday.

Bosman already showed signs early in the race that something was wrong, when she had to ease her pace. After 65km she suddenly collapsed and she had to be taken to hospital by ambulance.

According to reports, Bosman was still in the hospital in Durban by Monday evening, where medical tests were carried out on her while she received treatment.

Bosman won the women’s leg of the world-famous ultra-marathon in 2016.

A few years earlier, she also collapsed during the race, while being one of the leading female participants.

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