THE WOMEN’ S ULTRA
Gerda v Irvette
EXPECT FIREWORKS!
TTOM 2025 is set for a thrilling showdown as defending champ Gerda Steyn chases an unprecedented sixth consecutive win. But standing in her way is longtime rival and teammate Irvette van Zyl, hungry to claim her first victory after past heartbreaks. With both athletes in peak form and a history of record-breaking battles, this could be the most electrifying race yet.
BY MATSHELANE MAMABOLO
M anfred Seidler is the elite athletes manager at Hollywood Athletics Club, which counts two of South Africa’ s foremost female athletes, Gerda Steyn and Irvette van Zyl, among its members.
Looking forward to the 2025 Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon, Seidler – like the rest of South Africa’ s running fans – was salivating at the prospect of yet another titanic contest between the two friends.
“ We are hugely excited to finally have Gerda in our team, and now there’ s a huge chance we can go one and two at Two Oceans with her and Irvette. If all goes according to plan, it could be a race between the two yet again,” Seidler says.
Can they treat us to the thriller they dished out back in 2022 when they both dipped under 3:30:36 – previously thought an unbreakable 56km Two Oceans Marathon record set by the inimitable Frith van der Merwe back in 1989?
The World’ s Most Beautiful Marathon has produced fantastic contests over its five-and-a-bit decades. But few could match the one Steyn and Van Zyl dished out that beautiful Saturday three years ago when they put aside their friendship to test each other’ s resolve in the fiercest of manners. It was fitting that they both ended up finishing under that longstanding record.
Chasing a hat-trick of victories, Steyn started as favourite, and many felt she was going to yet again win the race – at a canter. Van Zyl had other ideas though, and given her climbing strength, she crested the notorious Constantia Nek ahead of her rival. The Smiling Assassin was not discouraged though, and dug deep into her reserves to overtake Van Zyl, who had hit the wall. She breasted the tape in 3:29:45, her adversary coming in at 3:30:31. Steyn retained her title in 2023 as she clipped a good 41 seconds off the previous record, this time in the absence of the injured Van Zyl.
They went at it again last year, but with Van Zyl being tripped just four kilometres into the race, we were robbed of yet another contest – Steyn confirming her status as the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon queen with a fifth successive win in, wait for it, a record time of 3:26:54.
“ THEY PUT ASIDE THEIR FRIENDSHIP TO TEST EACH OTHER’ S RESOLVE IN THE FIERCEST OF MANNERS”
Van Zyl’ s competitive spirit and her never-say-die attitude was evidenced by her finishing second just three minutes later despite having to run nearly the entire race on a bad and bleeding knee.
Steyn is going for an unbelievable sixth consecutive Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon Ultra title at the 2025 event, but with Van Zyl eager to eventually stand on that top podium, this is likely to be a race for the ages.
Could this latest contest give us road-running’ s equivalent of a“ Thrillain-Manila”, that brutal third and final battle between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier? What are the chances of Van Zyl finding it within her to beat an athlete she has previously been teammates with and has now reconnected with as they both run in the purple and yellow colours of Hollywood Athletics Club?
On race day, anything is possible, Steyn’ s seeming invincibility in the race notwithstanding. Van Zyl showed in 2022 that she has what it takes to run the amiable lass from Bothasville close. And while the 56km ultra marathon race is a different beast from the standard marathon, surely Van Zyl can take comfort and
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