Tete Dijana has won the 2023 Men’s Comrades Marathon. He clinched his second successive title in 5:14:01. The 35-year-old beat Piet Wiersma of the Netherlands. The two runners broke the down-run record. Gerda Steyn won the women’s race, crossing the finish line in 5:44:58.
For the elite athletes, records were waiting to be broken. In the men’s race, SA’s Ayanda Ngcobo set the pace, being at the front until the halfway point of the 87.701km route in Drummond. He would relinquish the lead to Japan’s Jo Fukuda who was first right through to Pinetown before being chased down by Dijana. The Nedbank Running Club ace, with his glasses on and a big smile, dominated the race as he finished in 5:14:01, bettering David Gatebe’s record of 5:18:19 set in 2016.
“It was hard, the race was too fast, Edward (Mothibi, his running partner) came to me and told me these guys are running fast. The first half was very fast, so I decided to stay behind the guys and then later on I pushed,” Tete told SuperSport after winning his second Comrades.
Second-placed Dutch international Pieter Wiersma and Mothibi, who finished third, acknowledged that Dijana was the best on the road.
“I could have pushed more and I could have maybe won but Tete was the strongest today physically and mentally,” said Wiersma, who crossed the line in 5:14:08. Mothibi, who rounded off the podium in 5:17:34, said of Dijana: “I’m happy Tete broke the record, and he won. Tete is young, he’s skilled and fit.
Source: eNCA
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