Steyn and Kusche rewrite Comrades history

By Palesa Matlala

• Gerda Steyn won her fifth Comrades Marathon title and set a new women’s uprun record of 5:44:53.

• George Kusche claimed his first Comrades victory and broke the men’s uprun record with a time of 5:16:06.

Gerda Steyn proved once again why she is the queen of the Comrades Marathon.

The South African star stormed to victory in the women’s race on Sunday and smashed the uprun record in the process.

Steyn crossed the finish line in Pietermaritzburg in 5:44:53.

It was her fourth consecutive Comrades title and her fifth overall victory in the world’s biggest ultramarathon.

After running alongside Nobukhosi Tshuma for much of the race, Steyn finally broke away after the four-hour mark and never looked back.

Tshuma finished second in 5:53:36, while Irvette van Zyl took third place in 6:02:30.

Steyn has now won every Comrades Marathon she has entered since her breakthrough victory in 2019.

The race was not held in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and she skipped the 2022 event to focus on shorter distances.

Earlier this year, she also won the Two Oceans Marathon for a seventh straight time.

In the men’s race, George Kusche produced the performance of his life to win his first Comrades title.

The former track runner crossed the finish line in a new uprun record of 5:16:06.

Kusche ran a smart race and stayed with the leading group before making his move late in the event.

With just over 10 kilometres left, he overtook long-time leader Mbuti Mollo and surged clear of the field.

From there, nobody could catch him.

Defending champion Piet Wiersma finished second in 5:19:45, while Mollo held on for third place in 5:21:40.

Kusche was not among the pre-race favourites, making his victory one of the biggest surprises of this year’s race.

The 2026 Comrades Marathon will be remembered as the day two South Africans rewrote the record books.

Pictured above: Gerda Steyn and George Kusche celebrate after breaking the women’s and men’s Comrades Marathon uprun records.

Image source: Comrades Marathon (X-twitter)