Dijana, Steyn win Comrades Marathon titles
TETE Dijana won an incredible third Comrades Marathon Down Run title on Sunday (June 8).
The Nedbank Running Club athlete, who finished 14th at last year's Up Run, exorcised those painful memories to make it a hat-trick of victories outside People's Park in Durban.
Dijana now holds the 2022, 2023 and 2025 Down Run titles.
Last year's Comrades winner Piet Wiersma, who's earned the nickname 'The Flying Dutchman' finished in second while Nikolia Volkov finished in third place.
Meanwhile in the ladies race, Gerda Steyn won her fourth Comrades Marathon title.
Steyn, who represented South Africa at the Olympics last year, was all smiles as she crossed the finish line.
Russia's Alexandra Morozova finished second to win her sixth gold medal. Shelmisth Muriuki became the first Kenyan woman to finish on the Comrades podium placing third.
This year's Comrades Marathon, run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, is slightly longer than the 87.701km of the previous Down Run (2023), as the finish has been moved to outside People's Park at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
This is the 98th edition of the iconic ultra-distance marathon and the 49th Down Run overall.
A field of over 22 000 runners are hoping to finish this year's Comrades Marathon before the final 12-hour cut-off gun is fired.
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Gerda Steyn has described winning the Comrades Marathon as 'an out-of-body experience'. On a day when Louis Massyn became the first man to complete the race 50 times, the Hollywood Athletics Club athlete reigned supreme once again. Steyn secured her fourth Comrades Marathon title — an unprecedented feat for a woman — with a composed run of 5:51:19, and yet her elation resembled that of a first-time winner. 'The feeling? You feel like you are not inside your own body,' she said during the post-race press conference at Moses Mabhida Stadium. 'It's like you look down on yourself doing it. To get to a point where you are in the finishing straight and you are going to win it — it is meaningful and impactful.' A crowd favourite, Steyn still had the energy for a celebratory lap of honour, high-fiving supporters with her trademark smile — though a rare grimace was spotted during the race, suggesting that this year's win didn't come as easily as in her previous triumphs. 'I try to share it,' she explained. 'That moment is so big, you can't hold it all in one body. So I will try to share it with the supporters. I will forever remember it.'
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Dijana declares himself the true Down Run champion
Tete Dijana won the men's race in the Comrades on Sunday. Photo: Sibonelo Ngcobo Independent Media Image: Sibonelo Ngcobo Independent Media "Indeed, I am a real Down Run champion!" There was an uncharacteristically cocky air about Tete Dijana late Sunday morning, deep within the bowels of the Moses Mabhida Stadium, as he addressed the post-race media conference. Responding to some questions with monosyllabic answers, and with his face cupped in his hands as he sat at the head table, he gave the impression of someone who would rather have been elsewhere. But make no mistake — Dijana was right where he wanted to be: in the spotlight, the centre of attention, basking in the glory of a Comrades Marathon victory that settled more than a few scores. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ First, he comfortably beat his Nedbank Running Club teammate Piet Wiersma — the Dutchman who had given him a major scare two years ago during the Down Run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Second, he made up for last year's nightmare run, which saw him plagued by dizziness and cramps, ultimately finishing outside the top 10 and missing out on a third successive Comrades crown. Wiersma, the 2023 Up Run winner, was tipped by many as the stronger contender heading into this year's race. But Dijana, ever determined, proved his supremacy on the Down Run. 'I came prepared,' he said. 'I made sure Piet worked hard. I made some surges and moves so I could be comfortable. In the last 10 kilometres he was closing in, so I accelerated a little and that gap opened up.' He said to expect the unexpected 😏 Tete Dijana puts the struggles of 2024 behind him with an emphatic win 👇 📺 Stream #Comrades2025 on DStv: — SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) June 8, 2025 Dijana clocked 5:25:28 — just five seconds ahead of Wiersma — although the margin of victory felt more comfortable than in 2022, when he won by only three seconds. When asked how it felt to cross the finish line first, his initial reply was simple: 'Unexplainable.' But with a bit more probing, he opened up. 'I was so excited and also emotional, because I remembered what happened last year when I was in my best shape — but the devil came,' he said, referencing his inexplicable 2023 struggles, which also affected his training group, affectionately known as The Happy Bunch. 'I'm happy that the devil did not attack me this year.' Instead, Dijana attacked the race. Alongside Wiersma and Edward Mothibi, he launched a late charge that overhauled Onalenna Khonkhobe, who had led from the start until just 18 kilometres from the finish. Dijana said the support from fans inspired him to run with renewed purpose. 'I'd been getting pressure from social media — my fans were saying, 'Don't let it go again.' They used the word again. I had to fix everything, because those people — when I was down last year, emotionally and physically — lifted my spirits.' 'When I was training, I told myself I wasn't going to run for me, I was going to run for them.' And run for them he did. Their cheers echoed through the stadium as he crossed the finish line, completing a hat-trick of Down Run victories following his triumphs in 2022 and 2023. He is, indeed, a true Down Run champion.
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