HALALA HERO! Tete Dijana conquers Comrades again in thrilling 5-second showdown

Comrades

Cape Town – South African runner Tete Dijana claimed his third Comrades Marathon title, winning the 2025 down run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban in 5:25:28, just five seconds ahead of Dutchman Piet Wiersma (5:25:33), who had beaten Dijana in the 2024 up run.

Dijana executed a tactically brilliant race, launching his final surge after Pinetown and holding off Wiersma’s late challenge. Russian Nikolai Volkov surprised by finishing third in 5:29:42, ahead of 2019 up run winner Edward Mothibi in fourth.

The race covered 89.98km, slightly longer than the 2023 down run due to a different finish location outside Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Onalenna Khonkhobe, winner of the 2024 Two Oceans Marathon, led for much of the race with an aggressive start but faded after cramping. Though overtaken later, he showed promise for future Comrades campaigns.

Dijana now holds three down run titles (2022, 2023, 2025), confirming his dominance on the route.

Top 3 Men:

  1. Tete Dijana (RSA) – 5:25:28

  2. Piet Wiersma (NED) – 5:25:33

  3. Nikolai Volkov (RUS) – 5:29:42

Note: Gerda Steyn won the women’s race for the fourth time, narrowly beating Aleksandra Morozova.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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