Leading Contenders
Tete Dijana led a clean-sweep of the men ’ s podium for the Nedbank Running Club
As we count down to the 96 th Comrades Marathon on Sunday 11 June , these appear to be the top male and female contenders in this year ’ s race . Of course , this kind of list is always subjective , and things can easily change on race day , but these appear to be the favourites . – BY DELAINE COOLS
The Men to Watch …
In 2022 , the Nedbank Running Club changed the dynamics of racing the Comrades Marathon forever . Onalenna Khonkhobe , the young runner from Klerksdorp , bolted out from the start and would not stop until he ran out of steam 67km into the race . He was not only on record pace , looking set to beat David Gatebe ’ s Down Run best of 5:18:19 , he was actually on pace for an astounding sub-5-hour finish . While the experts knew that this relentless onslaught was not sustainable , it made for entertaining viewing … and also showed just what a class act Khonkobe is . ( More on him later ).
Behind him a pack of five more Nedbank men – Tete Dijana , Edward Mothibi , Dan Matshailwe , Johannes Makgetla and Joseph Manyedi – were running as a team . All five , as well as Khonkobe , were from the same training group in the North West Province , and they had planned the race down to the finest detail . Khonkobe would go out as the proverbial hare and set a blistering pace to keep the non-Nedbank runners guessing , while the other five would stick together . And it worked , as all five finished in the top seven of the race , only prevented from recording an unprecedented top five clean-sweep by three-time winner Bongmusa Mthembu finishing fourth , and Nkosikhona Mhlakwana taking sixth .
All five are back for the 2023 Comrades Marathon , and all have prepared in much the same way as in 2022 . The only difference is that the opposition is now forewarned , and as they say in the classics , forewarned is forearmed . With all that said , let ’ s look at the top contenders for the 2023 men ’ s race .
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Tete Dijana ( Nedbank )
1 Comrades medal ( 1 Gold ) 1st in 2022
Dijana has to be considered the race favourite to defend his title . The 34-year-old has quite the ultra-marathoning pedigree : Third at the 2020 Om Die Dam 50km , second at the 2022 Nedbank Runified 50km Ultra ( 2:44:09 ) and his only other outing at Comrades in 2019 of 47th ( 6:25:03 ). Dijana and his training compatriot ,
Edward Mothibi , were the last two standing in ISSUE 159 | www . modernathlete . co . za the 2022 Comrades , racing together from around 20km to go , before Dijana moved away with roughly 10km left and opening a gap of just over three minutes on the 2019 champion . Based on his 2:39:04 run at this year ’ s Nedbank Runified 50km – which is faster than Stephen Mokoka ’ s current World Record of 2:40:13 , and is awaiting ratification as a new World Record – and how he flew away from the field in the final kilometre of that race , Dijana appears to be in even better shape than he was in 2022 .
Edward Mothibi ( Nedbank )
3 Comrades medals ( 3 Golds ) 1st in 2019 2nd in 2022 4th in 2018
Mothibi has an impressive Comrades Marathon record . Fourth on debut in 2018 , he claimed victory the following year in just his second Comrades when he defeated defending champion and threetime winner , Bongmusa Mthembu , in a titanic battle , then posted a second place in 2022 . Mothibi is well known for his systematic approach to racing . For example , in 2019 he only placed 95th at the Two Oceans Marathon , coming home in 3:53:23 , while Mthembu won the Cape ultra in 3:08:29 , but that meant Mothibi was clearly racing on fresher legs at that year ’ s Comrades . He followed a similar approach in 2022 , competing only in the Nedbank Runified 50km in March , where he finished third , and his next race was Comrades . In 2023 , he has prepared for Comrades in similar fashion , taking third in the Runified 50km in late February with a new personal best of 2:45:27 . His marathon PB of 2:13:54 , run in 2021 , shows that there is speed in his legs .
Bongmusa Mthembu ( Arthur Ford )
14 Comrades medals ( 9 Golds ) 1st in 2014 , 2017 , 2018 2nd in 2012 , 2019 3rd in 2010 , 2016 4thin 2022
Images : Action Photo SA & courtesy Comrades Marathon , Nedbank Running Club , Caitriona Jennings