Steyn received a little more than Dijana for reaching a hotspot point first.
Tete Dijana after winning the men’s race at the Comrades Marathon on Sunday. Picture: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
Comrades Marathon winners Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn were well rewarded on Sunday, raking in more than R1.5 million each at the annual ultra-distance race in KwaZulu-Natal.
Dijana held off a challenge from Dutch athlete Piet Wiersma to win the men’s race in 5:25:28, securing his third career Comrades victory.
Steyn won the women’s race by nearly five minutes, completing the 90km contest in 5:51:19 to earn her fourth Comrades title.
Prize money and bonuses
For their efforts, both athletes took home R874 000 as the race winners.
In addition, they received R220 000 as the first South African runners to finish, while Steyn also picked up R50 000 for being the first woman through a hotspot point in the second half of the race.
While neither athlete broke their own race records, which were set on a course that was more than two kilometres shorter in 2023, they both also received R500 000 for setting the fastest average pace ever recorded in the men’s and women’s ‘down’ run events.
In total, Dijana took home R1.576 million and Steyn earned R1.626 million.
