By Jacques van der Westhuyzen.
Charne Bosman, the 2016 women’s winner, is believed to be in hospital after collapsing during Sunday’s race. Picture: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images.
Former comrades marathon women’s champion Charné Bosman is believed to be in hospital after feeling unwell during the 2022 ‘down’ run on Sunday.
This follows the news earlier on Monday that two male runners had passed away during the race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday, and that another man is in a serious condition in a Durban hospital.
Bosman, winner of the ‘down’ run in 2016 in a time of 6:25:55, is believed to be undergoing tests to determine why she collapsed during her run on Sunday.
The 56-year-old elite athlete is understood to have stopped running around the 65km mark before she was taken to a hospital in Durban.
In a Facebook post the day before the race, Bosman said she was “feeling healthy and ready”.
One of the runners who’d passed away was confirmed as Mzamo Mthembu, while the details of the other runner who passed away are due to be released later. He is believed to be a 49-year-old male from Gauteng, who is believed to have suffered a heart-attack.
Condolences have already poured in for the Durban father of four, Mthembu.
His death was also confirmed on Monday by his running club, Hollywoodbets Athletics Club, through a Facebook statement.
“He (Mthembu) had complications along the route and collapsed in Pinetown and was taken to Westville Hospital where he sadly passed away,” a post reads.