By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
Gerda Steyn continued her domination of road running in South Africa, with another commanding victory in record time at the 97th Comrades Marathon on Sunday.
Steyn was joined in the early stages by compatriot Carla Molinaro and Zimbabwean athlete Loveness Madziva, but by the time she reached halfway, she was well clear.
And she gradually extended the gap all the way to the finish, crossing the line in 5:49:46, more than nine minutes inside her ‘up’ run record of 5:58:53 which had been set in 2019.
Also setting the fastest pace in the history of the women’s ‘up’ run, Steyn took home more than R2 million in prize money and bonuses.
“This is the best day of my life,” she said after the race.
“It was a blessing to be here and I just want to thank everyone who has played a part, supported me and helped me to get here.”
Steyn, who also won the 2019 (Up Run) and 2023 (Down Run), is now set to represent South Africa at the Olympics in Paris.
Former winner Alexandra Morozova of Russia finished second in the women’s race in 6:05:12, and American athlete Courtney Olsen stormed through the field in the closing stages to grab third spot in 6:08:09.
After the last up run in 2019 the 2020 and 2021 Comrades were cancelled due to Covid-19 and the 2022 and 2023 races were down runs due to roadworks on the N3 outside Pietermaritzburg.
Just over 20,000 runners started the ultra-marathon in 2024.
Earlier, in the men’s race, Piet Wiersma of the Netherlands exorcised his demons of an agonising second place finish at last year’s men’s race,to take victory.
The 26-year-old crossed the finish line in 5:25:00.
Dan Moselakwe was second in 5:25:45, Ethiopia’s Degefa Lafebo was third in 5:27:48.