ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Awards
MODERN ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Ultra Distances – Beyond 42.2km | Men ’ s Nominees
1 Tete Dijana
Tete dominated the ultra scene in South Africa in 2023 . He comfortably won the Nedbank Runified 50km in February , going through the marathon mark in 2:12 and crossing the line in 2:39:04 to break not only Stephen Mokoka ’ s course record , but also his World Record for the distance . ( The World Record has subsequently been improved again .) That set the tone for Tete ’ s record-breaking run at the Comrades Marathon , where he was involved in a titanic struggle with Dutchman Piet Wiersema . Tete crossed the line In Durban in a new Down Run best time of 5:13:58 , which equates to an average pace of 3:35 / km .
2 Dan Matshailwe
Dan throws his name into the mix by virtue of his second-place finish at the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon . The previous year , he finished third at the Comrades Marathon , which showed his pedigree as an ultra proponent , to go with his 2:14:06 marathon time at the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon in 2021 . Selected for the 2023 World 50km Championships on the back of his Two Oceans performance , Dan was robbed of the chance to represent his country due to administrative bungling with his visa application , and instead he competed in the Soweto Marathon , where he finished 10th in 2:24:29 .
3 Nkosiklhona Mhlakwana
Third place at Two Oceans and 12th in the Comrades means that Nkosikhona , a . k . a . ‘ Pitbull ,’ has to be in contention here . Nkosikhona appeared down and out before the halfway mark at Two Oceans , due to suffering from cramping , but in true pitbull fashion , he dug into his reserves and ended up working his way back up through the ranks , moving into the top 10 before the marathon mark , up to seventh on the climb up Constantia Nek , and ultimately into third place on the descent from the Nek the finish at UCT .
4 Edward Mothibi
Having won the Comrades in 2019 and then finished second in 2022 , Edward ’ s inclusion in this list should come as no surprise . His ultrarunning pedigree is up there with the best SA has produced , as his third place finish in the 2023 Comrades once again showed . It is not just his third place , but also his consistency , that makes him a contender in the Ultra category .
Ultra Distances – Beyond 42.2km | Women ’ s Nominees
1 Adele Broodryk
Adele had an incredible 2022 , notably her third place at the Comrades after running on record pace earlier in the race , and she took that form into 2023 , going on to pick up three podium finishes and two more top ten finishes in a very successful year . Those included a win at the Om Die Dam 50km , seventh at the Nedbank Runified 50km and eighth at Two Oceans , but the highlight was her second place at Comrades . She finished in 5:56:26 , making her the all-time third-fastest woman for the Down Run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban , and only the fifth woman to dip under six hours for this route . Her rise in the SA ultra scene has been nothing short of meteoric .
3 Gerda Steyn
2 Carla Molinaro
Carla ’ s inclusion here may raise some eyebrows , because she represented Great Britain at the 2023 IAU World 50km Championships in India in November , but she actually holds dual citizenship for both Britain and South Africa . She was born here , raised in the UK , and hs now settled back in SA . As such , we believe that she qualifies for these awards , and she had an exemplary year to run herself into contention . She was third at Two Oceans , storming through the field in the final 6km to secure the final spot on the podium , and then claimed third at Comrades as well , having led the race at one point . She then went on to win that World 50km Championships title in Hyderabad , India in November .
Gerda started the year by winning the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon title in style , crossing the line in 3:29:04 to smash her own course record from 2022 . She also became the second runner to win the Cape Town classic four times , alongside Monica Drögemöller , but the first to do it in consecutive editions of the race . Fast forward to June and Gerda was in indomitable form as she romped to the win in the Comrades Marathon , clocking 5:44:54 to take just under 10 minutes off the longstanding best Down Run time , the 5:54:43 run by Frith van der Merwe in 1989 . Granted , Frith did run 1.899km further , but Gerda averaged 3:57 / km to Frith ’ s 3:58 . The cherry on top was Gerda ’ s final race of the year , when she lowered her own SA Marathon record to 2:24:03 in Valencia , but that is covered in another section of these awards .
Remember , the winners will be announced in the next edition of Modern Athlete , so you ’ ve got something to look forward to in just a few weeks ’ time , and in the meantime , all comments and feedback on our new awards are welcomed at letters @ modernathlete . co . za .
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