OPINION: Bongmusa Mthembu, the forgotten king of Comrades

Most of the attention after last week’s Comrades Marathon was centred around the winners, and rightly so, but one man who did not emerge victorious managed to cement his place among SA’s all-time ultra-distance greats.

Gerda Steyn was phenomenal in the women’s race, as expected, shattering her own ‘up’ run record, and while we’ll have to wait and see how much of an effect that has in terms of her chances at the Olympic marathon in Paris in August, she has now firmly established herself as the best women’s ultra-distance runner South Africa has ever produced.

At the front of the field, Dutch athlete Piet Wiersma was also superb, ripping a quality men’s field apart in the closing stages to win on his ‘up’ run debut.

Mthembu shines again

Another man’s stellar performance, however, went largely unnoticed. While he crossed the line nearly 10 minutes after Wiersma, Bongmusa Mthembu produced one of the most stunning performances of the day.

Mthembu is not the first athlete to secure 10 gold medals, which he achieved last weekend by finishing sixth, but he has got to be considered the best ultra-distance runner South Africa has produced since Bruce Fordyce in the Eighties.

Since he picked up his first gold in 2009, Mthembu has been remarkably consistent, having finished in the top three on seven occasions and winning the race three times.

And his longevity is equally remarkable, as he continues to challenge at the front end of the field 18 years after making his Comrades debut.

Still going strong

It takes a special athlete to achieve gold at Comrades. Aside from ensuring they are supremely fit at the start line, it requires a tremendous amount of mental strength to keep pushing the pace in the closing stages when your body is begging you to stop.

At the age of 40, Mthembu no longer possesses the leg speed which carried him to victory at the 56km Two Oceans race in Cape Town in 2019, but you can’t buy experience or mental fortitude, and the two-time 100km World Championships medallist still possesses both of these attributes in abundance.

He’s got a lot of mileage in his legs, and Mthembu can’t shine on the road forever, but ultra-distance specialists can run well into their forties and remain competitive at the highest level.

Only six men have ever won the Comrades Marathon more than three times, and based on his performance this year, it seems Mthembu still has the potential to join that elite group.

Even if he doesn’t, however, he’s already done enough to cement his place as one of the best Comrades runners in history.