Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn were the stories of the day at the 2023 Comrades Marathon. Both set new records for the down run.
Steyn felt like she had the whole of South Africa screaming for her.
“Go Gerda, go!”
“Tete, Tete, Tete!”
These were the cries roaring through Kingsmead Cricket Stadium on Sunday as South African heroes Gerda Steyn and Tete Dijana came down the final stretch of grass, both winning their second Comrades Marathon titles, and both setting new records for the down-run.
Dijana, the defending champion, won the men’s race in 05:13:58, shaving around four minutes off David Gatebe’s 2016 run.
Congratulations Tete Morena Dijana for winning the 96th Comrades Marathon in a best time of 05:13:58 🥳🖤💛#ThisIsIt #Ziyasha #TheUltimateHumanRace pic.twitter.com/XdVfrfTHiT
— ComradesRace (@ComradesRace) June 12, 2023
Steyn, backed all week to break the record, obliterated Frith van der Merwe’s 1989 time by 10 minutes, coming home in 05:44:54.
Congratulations to Gerda Steyn for winning the 96th Comrades Marathon in a best time of 05:44:54 🥳🖤💛#ThisIsIt #Ziyasha #TheUltimateHumanRace pic.twitter.com/CXHpJyTC06
— ComradesRace (@ComradesRace) June 12, 2023
ALSO READ: 6 Tips on how to get through the Comrades Marathon
South Africa’s marathon queen was wobbly on her feet as she was swarmed by race organisers, family and media. But the smile couldn’t leave her face.
Dijana was in tears, saying after the race that his prize money would be invested for his children.
“It was only in the last 5km that I started thinking about the record,” he said.
He had been pushed all the way by Piet Wiersma, who fell agonisingly short in second and was left with hands on knees and head down in the disappointment of what so nearly was.
“He [Wiersma] made it a tough time for me. I had to reserve my energy,” added Dijana.
“I’d like to dedicate this to my coach and my kids. My coach is actually not well, and he couldn’t be here today. He has always believed in me.
“I’ve been away from my kids for two months, so this is for them.”
Steyn, meanwhile, has solidified her status as the country’s premier marathon and ultra-marathon runner. She missed last year’s race, but won in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic struck.
“I woke up feeling good. I’m been dreaming about this day for such a long time,” she said.
“I woke up knowing that I had done the training and the weather was beautiful. I felt like it was all lined up for a good time.
“Still, I didn’t want to talk about the record too much. I didn’t want it to phase me or distract me from my main goal of winning the race. The Comrades is long, and you can’t think about these times.
“I wanted to produce the best result that I could as an athlete, and that was the record today. It went according to plan.”
Steyn, still just 33, was blown away by the emotion of the moment and the support she received on the route.
“I can’t put what the support means into words,” she said.
“It felt today like I had the entire country screaming my name from start to finish. I can’t describe how that made me feel. I wanted to run well today – not just for me, but for everyone who was watching or who was perhaps being inspired by this.
“I want people to see that running is just awesome and the fact that we’ve got Comrades here in our country is magic. I run in that way to acknowledge the crowds and I want to inspire them.”
𝗚𝗘𝗥𝗗𝗔 𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗬𝗡 👑🇿🇦
Two Oceans Marathon ✅
Comrades Marathon ✅Gerda smashes the Comrades down run record in 05:44:56! 💥
📺 Stream #Comrades2023 live: https://t.co/ACEUH7ePOB pic.twitter.com/dXPQNhCXpQ
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) June 11, 2023
It was also another showing of total dominance for Nick Bester’s Nedbank Running Club.
The top three men – Dijana, Wiersma and Edward Mothibi – all run for Nedbank while the club boasted a total of five of the top 10 finishers. Five of the top 10 women finishers, including second-place Adele Broodryk, are also Nedbank athletes.
“We worked hard for it,” Bester told News24 at the finish line, waiting on to welcome his athletes long after the top 10 had come home.
Both Dijana and Steyn collect a total of R1.2 million in prize money for their efforts – R500k for the win, R500k for breaking the record and an additional R200k for breaking the record as a South African.
News24
