Latest news with #PietWiersma
The Citizen
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Comrades marathon 2025 — LIVE UPDATES
It is the world's biggest ultra-marathon and this year takes runners from Pietermaritzburg to Durban. It's the 98th edition of the Comrades ultra-marathon on Sunday, 8 June. This year it's a Down run, taking runners from Pietermaritzburg to Durban, on a route of just about 90km. A little more than 22,000 runners entered the race. Piet Wiersma and Gerda Steyn are the defending champions, having won last year's Up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. This year's race will for the first time have two starts — at 5.45am and 6am, to assist with flow in the early stages in the narrow streets of Pietermaritzburg. All runners will still have 12 hours to complete the route. Follow the live action here of Comrades 2025 Latest posts will appear below. Please refresh for the latest news.
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
Comrades Marathon: Top five men's and women's contenders
Strong fields will line up in both the men's and women's races at the world's biggest ultra-marathon in Kwazulu-Natal this weekend. Former winners Tete Dijana and Piet Wiersma are among the favourites in the men's race. Picture: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images Local athletes will take on a strong contingent of international visitors at the 98th edition of the Comrades Marathon, a 'down' run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban on Sunday. We take a look at five of the top contenders for the men's and women's titles. Men Tete Dijana (South Africa) One of the country's most consistent ultra-marathon runners, Dijana will target his third Comrades win after securing victory in 2022 and 2023. In 2023, he set the 'down' run record of 5:13:58, and though that mark should be safe on a longer course this weekend, if Dijana is at his best he will be difficult to beat. Piet Wiersma (Netherlands) At the age of 27, Wiersma is one of the younger individuals in the elite field, but he has proved his ability in recent years. A former bronze medallist at the 100km World Championships, the Dutch athlete finished second on his Comrades debut in 2023 and last year he went one better by winning the 'up' run. Bongmusa Mthembu (South Africa) One of the best ultra runners South Africa has ever produced, Mthembu has earned 10 Comrades gold medals and, remarkably, has finished in the top three on seven occasions. A three-time winner of the race, and a former winner of the Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town, the 41-year-old athlete has the experience to outclass a strong field. Edward Mothibi (South Africa) Another veteran athlete with a wealth of experience, Mothibi flaunted his consistency by finishing in the top four at Comrades on four occasions between 2018 and 2023. The winner of the 'up' run in 2019, he has also previously found success on the 'down' run, and he will fancy his chances of putting up a fight once again. Degefa Lafebo (Ethiopia) As strong as they are over the standard marathon distance, Ethiopian athletes are not known for their ultra-distance prowess, but Lafebo is an exception. He earned gold medals at Two Oceans in 2023 and 2024, and last year he went on to secure third place at Comrades, and he should be in the hunt near the front of the field. Women Gerda Steyn (South Africa) Comrades is unpredictable, and anything can happen, but few bookies will give anything better than even odds for Steyn to win again. After winning her sixth successive Two Oceans title earlier this year, she will target her fourth Comrades victory in defence of the 'down' run title she earned in 2023 when she set the record of 5:44:54. Alexandra Morozova (Russia) If anyone has the pedigree to put up a fight against Steyn, it's Morozova, who has been the most consistent elite woman at Comrades over the last decade. Between 2017 and 2024 she earned six gold medals, winning the race in 2022, and Morozova has the experience and the ability to cause an upset against the pre-race favourite. Caitriona Jennings (Ireland) A former bronze medallist at the 100km World Championships, Jennings has been a regular feature at Comrades in recent years, finishing third in 2019, fifth in 2023 and seventh last year. The 44-year-old former Olympic marathon runner, who was also seventh at the Two Oceans last season, will be confident of challenging for her fourth Comrades gold medal. Courtney Olsen (United States) Holding down a full-time job in the banking industry, and managing a team of competitive runners, Olsen doesn't have much time as she'd like to focus on training. But she proved her class last year by finishing third on debut on the 'up' run and she went on to break the 50-mile (80.46km) world record later in the season. Irvette van Zyl (South Africa) Van Zyl has found some good form this year after bouncing back from injury, and she will line up among the contenders on her Comrades debut. The SA 50km record holder has finished second behind Steyn on three occasions at Two Oceans, and as one of the country's most experienced distance runners, she should make her presence felt.
TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- Sport
- TimesLIVE
Gerda Steyn has two options for rare Comrades Up-Down pairing triumph
Should defending Comrades champions Gerda Steyn and Piet Wiersma emerge victorious again on Sunday, they will become the first women's and men's pair to claim Up and Down crowns together since 2011. The feat has been achieved only on four occasions, probably reduced by the fact that women were allowed to enter officially only from 1975. Two years after that the first pairing claimed the double, with Germiston Callies Harriers runners Alan Robb and Lettie van Zyl going Down-Up-Down in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Robb, a four-time winner of the Comrades, owns the record for most gold medals, awarded to top 10 finishers, with 12, one ahead of Bruce Fordyce. Fordyce, winner of a record nine Comrade titles — eight of them in a row from 1981 to 1988 — achieved the Up-Down feat with two women over five consecutive years.
IOL News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- IOL News
5 things to look out for at Comrades Marathon
START OF A JOURNEY Runners cross over the start of the Comrades Marathon. Picture: Phakamisa Lensman/BackpagePix Image: Phakamisa Lensman/BackpagePix It's that time of year again, and the Comrades Marathon is once again here as over 22,000 runners are set to take on the challenge of running from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday. The down run this year is set to be held in good running conditions, with the risk of rain around 10%. Of course, from the outset the focus will be on the title contenders in the men's and women's races, which will be Piet Wiersma and Gerda Steyn. However, the majority of the race will be about the hordes of regular runners who will be putting in herculean efforts as they attempt to cross the finish line in the gruelling ultra-marathon. Here are five things to look out for at the Comrades Marathon this weekend. 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. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Chariots of Fire at the start As is tradition, the song Chariots of Fire by Vangelis will be played on the loudspeaker system at the start just before the gun is fired. It's always a stirring and inspiring moment which brings the anticipation to a crescendo, before each runner sets off on their Comrades journey. Commentators telling us how far 90km is It's understandable that during a broadcast over more than 12 hours, commentators will run out of things to talk about at times. However, it's always particularly irritating when the commentators try to explain how far Comrades is, how it's more than two regular marathons, and for bonus points, they might even once more tell us how many parkruns (5km) Comrades is like running in a row. It's simply inane babble, and sometimes silence is golden. The final hour of the race This is where the real heart of the race lies. The runners that finish between 11 hours and the 12-hour cut-off are the ones who likely battle most to finish the race. These are not elite runners; these are people with regular jobs who somehow find the time to put in enough (or not enough) training just to simply cross the line. There will be many who crawl over the finish throughout the day, but the most come in this final hour. Finally, there will be scenes of heartbreak as viewers witness those runners who don't make it, despite their best efforts. It's TV sporting drama of the highest calibre.
IOL News
03-06-2025
- General
- IOL News
Top five contenders for the Comrades Marathon 2025 men's title
TOP CONTENDERS Discover the top five contenders for the 2025 Comrades Marathon Men's title, including defending champions Piet Wiersma (left) and Tete Dijana (right), and dark horse Joseph Manyedi. Picture: Rajesh Jantilal/AFP Image: Rajesh Jantilal/AFP With the Comrades Marathon set for Sunday, the big question is which men's athlete will cross the line first around 11 a.m. in Durban. Unlike the women's race where Gerda Steyn will be the heavy favourite to claim her fourth title, the men's contest is much more wide open. It seems like ancient history when there was one dominant force in the men's race, namely Bruce Fordyce with nine titles - eight of which were consecutive. Here are five top contenders in the 'down run' ending in Pietermaritzburg, for the Comrades Marathon men's title. 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. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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. Advertisement 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. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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 ✕ Piet Wiersma Piet Wiersma, also known as the 'Flying Dutchman', is the defending champion. Of course, his breakthrough victory came in the 'up-run' last year, but he will be keen to show he has the ability to win on the reverse route. To his credit, the man from the Netherlands also finished second on the same down run in 2023. Tete Dijana Tete Dijana is the defending champion on the down run, having won the title in 2023. It was his second title in a row, after also claiming victory on the up run a year prior.
