THE ENTRIES
Nearly 18,000 Runners !
After the completion of the entry and qualification process for the 2023 Comrades Marathon , a total of 17,920 have qualified to run the race . Of these , 16,090 hail from South Africa , and 1830 are international entries . The lion ’ s share of South African entries hail from Gauteng , followed by KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape . The full provincial breakdown looks as follows :
1 Gauteng |
7398 |
2 KwaZulu-Natal |
3491 |
3 Western Cape |
1517 |
4 Eastern Cape |
1141 |
5 Mpumalanga |
772 |
6 Limpopo |
662 |
7 Free State |
505 |
8 North West |
450 |
9 Northern Cape |
154 |
The 2354 international entries received came from a grand total of 84 countries , with the largest contingents coming from India ( 403 athletes ), followed by Zimbabwe ( 255 ) and the United Kingdom ( 224 ). Of that total , 1830 international athletes have met the qualification criteria and will be running on 11 June . The Top 10 international entry breakdown is as follows :
1 India |
403 |
2 Zimbabwe |
255 |
3 United Kingdom |
224 |
4 USA |
173 |
5 Brazil |
142 |
6 Botswana |
137 |
7 Australia |
114 |
8 Russia |
108 |
9 Eswatini |
102 |
10 Zambia |
62 |
“ We are looking forward to a fantastic running of this year ’ s race , and we warmly welcome everyone to KwaZulu-Natal ,” says James . “ It ’ s our South African runners who have made this such an epic event , but we are also pleased with the large number of international entrants . As usual , we will offer a very warm South African welcome to the athletes and their families from around the world , who will be here to share in the spirit and camaraderie of The Ultimate Human Race .”
The Comrades is famous for the incredible camaraderie amongst its runners
THE PRIZE PURSE
Double the Incentives in 2023
TOP 10 : In line with the CMA ’ s commitment to runners and the media to restore the prize money back to the levels before the COVID-19 pandemic struck , the CMA is pleased to announce that this year ’ s prize purse will be a substantial R4.31-million , effectively a 90 % increase on last year ’ s R2.27 million . This includes nearly a doubling of last year ’ s first prize , from R260,000 to R500,000 with the rest of the podium positions showing similar increases , from R130,000 to R250,000 for second , and from R90,000 to R180,000 for third position . The full breakdown of prize money for the top 10 men and women is :
1 st |
R500,000 |
2 nd |
R250,000 |
3 rd |
R180,000 |
4 th |
R90,000 |
5 th |
R70,000 |
6 th |
R40,000 |
7 th |
R35,000 |
8 th |
R30,000 |
9 th |
R25,000 |
10 th |
R20,000 |
MORE PRIZES :
• All other age category and team prizes have been increased by similar 90 % margins .
• All top 10 men and women will each be awarded a 1-ounce pure gold medal valued at around R38,000 .
• The first South African in both men ’ s and women ’ s races will receive R200,000 .
• The first KZN athlete man and woman will earn R60,000 from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Sport , Arts & Culture .
RECORD INCENTIVES : If the winner in either the men ’ s or women ’ s races in this year ’ s Comrades Marathon breaks the Down Run Best Times of David Gatebe ( 5:18:19 ) or Frith van der Merwe ( 5:54:43 ) respectively , he and / or she will take home a minimum of R1-million in Comrades prize money , comprising of a first prize of R500,000 plus a further R500,000 incentive for setting a new Best Time . In addition to these prizes .
THE TV COVERAGE
SuperSport Doubles Up
For the first time ever , viewers will have two channels to watch the Comrades Marathon on 11 June . The main SuperSport feed , taking in the entire race day from 5am to 6pm , will be broadcast on SS Variety 4 . Another feed , focusing on the women ’ s race , will be carried on SS Variety 2 from 5:15am to 11:30am , with a dedicated female commentary team headed by former winners Helen Lucre and Cheryl Winn . In another first , SuperSport will also have an OTT channel streaming directly from the finish line , so that viewers can keep an eye out for their friends or family completing the epic ultra-marathon . This will run live from 10am to 6pm .
This 13-hour broadcast will be SuperSport ’ s biggest single-day live production of 2023 , using 45 cameras and a crew of almost 200 people at the race , as well as another 15 working from SuperSport ’ s Randburg headquarters , to make the broadcast happen . A camera-equipped car and five motorbikes will shadow the race leaders in both men ’ s and women ’ s races , and a camera will also be positioned at Arthur ’ s Seat , situated just after Drummond and the halfway mark , as it is a popular landmark on the route , where runners traditionally place a flower on the reputed favourite spectating spot of five-time winner Arthur Newton . Additionally , SuperSport will bring viewers visuals from the Green Number Club area at the finish .
The commentary team will be anchored by the versatile and experienced crew of Gerald De Kock , Cuan Walker and Mosibodi Whitehead , with Bruce Fordyce lending his unique analytical voice to proceedings . Additional presenters will include OG Molefe , Thato Moeng , Toks van der Linde , Candice Naidoo and Mbali Singidi , as well as former women ’ s gold medallist Jenna Challenor . Also , former SA cricketer Shaun Pollock joins this year ’ s team to hand out the roses to the top 10 men and women and engage with runners at the finish venue .
SuperSport will have 45 cameras to cover all aspects of the race
Over 1800 international runners will line up for the 2023 race
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