Golden girl Steyn wishes Bester well after attack

Comrades champion Gerda Steyn has wished her coach Nick Bester well following a near-fatal attack on him last Sunday.

Bester, the chairman of the Nedbank Running club of whom Steyn is a member, was assaulted by men while out on a training run in the Magaliesberg Mountains on Sunday.

His cheekbone was brone, a bone above his eye was broken, while three ribs were also broken. Bester also had bruises and cuts after being forced to drag his tied up body across the mountains in search of help and safety.

Steyn, who won the 2018 and 2019 editions of the Two Oceans ultra-marathon in Cape Town, while also bagging the winner’s prize at the Comrades last year, has a close association with Bester (60).

“Get well soon. It’s heartbreaking to see such a violent attack while Nick is doing something he loves,” tweeted Steyn.

“We hope you recover well! This violence has to stop.”

Bester is one of South Africa’s most revered long distance athletes, having won the Comrades, as well as Ironman and Ultraman events.

The good news was that Bester had been moved out of the ICU ward at a Pretoria hospital and was recovering in the high care ward.

Steyn, who is currently training in Europe, won a 5km road race in Cheshire, England last week in a scintillating time of 15 minutes, 44 seconds. It was her first race in over six months.