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Local favourite Tete Dijana will target his third win in the men's race at the annual ultra-marathon in KwaZulu-Natal.
Gerda Steyn winning the women’s race at last year’s Comrades Marathon. Picture: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images
Though she will line up as the firm favourite to win her fourth Comrades Marathon title on Sunday, Gerda Steyn insists she is not taking anything for granted on the ‘down’ run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban.
Over the last two years, Steyn has broken the women’s ‘up’ and ‘down’ run records at the prestigious ultra-marathon.
Earlier this season, the 35-year-old athlete won her sixth successive title at the Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town, and she is expected to dominate again on Sunday.
She will, however, have to beat a strong field, with her strongest challenge potentially coming from former winner Alexandra Morozova of Russia.
Other contenders include the likes of Polish athlete Dominika Stelmach, American Courtney Olsen, SA-based British runner Carla Molinaro and Zimbabwe’s Nobukhosi Tshuma, as well as local athletes Galaletsang Mekgoe, Jenna Challenor and debutant Irvette van Zyl.
Lining up against a powerful field, Steyn said she would stay grounded and approach the race as if it was her first attempt at Comrades.
“Every year to me is more important than the year before. I think for me to establish a legacy and to show that I’m not just here to win it once and then disappear is very important to me.
“So every year I approach it as if it’s my first time, as if I’m a novice with nothing to fall back on, and I make sure I stay sharp and also excited about every race.”
Dijana spearheads men’s line-up
Meanwhile, Tete Dijana was hungry to reclaim the men’s title after struggling to put up a fight last year.
Dijana won the race in 2022 and 2023 (when he broke the ‘down’ run record’) but he settled for 14th place last year, with Dutch athlete Piet Wiersma dominating the ‘up’ run.
“I’m so excited to come and fix what happened last year because I cramped and I walked… so this year I’m not here to walk,” Dijana said.
Despite missing out on a top-10 finish in 2024, Dijana said he did not feel any additional pressure, and he warned his opponents that they needed to be wary of him.
“I don’t have pressure. They have pressure,” he said.
Aside from Wiersma, Dijana will also be up against the likes of former champions Bongmusa Mthembu and Edward Mothibi.
