Comrades 2024: Piet Wiersma wins, Gerda Steyn makes history
The 97th Comrades Marathon saw history being made in the men’s and women’s races.
The Netherlands’ Piet Wiersma won his first Comrades Marathon title today in dominant fashion.
Wiersma crossed the finish line at the Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg with a time of 5:25:00, just 11 seconds slower than the current record.
Known as the ‘Unknown Dutchman’, Wiersma won the hearts of many South Africans last year when he finished second, a mere three seconds behind winner Tete Dijana.
A student who is based in Italy and does all his training in the mountains, Wiersma had specifically focused on added hill training for this year’s Up Run. He has be renamed ‘The flying Dutchman’ by South African media after today’s win.
South Africa’s Dan Moselakwe claimed second position while Ethiopia’s Degefa Lafebo finished in third.
In the women’s race, Gerda Steyn was crowned ‘Queen of the Comrades Marathon’ as she won her third Comrades title.
Steyn broke her own Up Run record time finishing in a time of 05:49:46, the previous record she set being 05:58:53.
Steyn, who also won the 2019 (Up Run) and 2023 (Down Run), is now set to represent South Africa at the Olympics in Paris.
This year’s Comrades Marathon, which was the 97th race and 49th Up Run, welcomed more than 20 000 runners.
Watch a live stream of the Comrades Marathon finish line here:
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