Monday, 15 June 2026: The South African Communist Party (SACP) congratulates South African athletes, George Kusche and Gerda Steyn, for winning the 99th edition of the Comrades Marathon on Sunday.
Running the “Ultimate Human Race”, as the world's oldest and largest ultramarathon is known, demands untiring discipline and perseverance. They are a monumental inspiration to the people of South Africa, particularly the youth.
Revered as the queen of the road, Gerda Steyn claimed her fifth Comrades Marathon gold – and her fourth consecutive win – crossing the finish line in 05:44:53, marking the victory with her trademark radiant smile, beating Zimbabwean Nobukhosi Tshuma, who came in second.
In winning the 2026 edition, Steyn also rewrote the record books as she smashed her own “Up Run” record of 05:49:46, which she set in 2024.
The SACP also congratulates Irvette Van Zyl, who won third place with the time of 06:02:30.
In his very first “Up Run”, George Kusche clinched the men’s title, crossing the finish line in a record-setting time of 05:15:56 and thereby demolishing the 18-year-old course record of 05:24:49 set by Russian Leonid Shvetsov in 2008. Maintaining an astonishing average pace of 3:41 min/km, Kusche beat the 2024 champion, Piet Wiersma, from The Netherlands, who came in second.
The SACP also congratulates South African athlete, Mbuti Mollo who came third in the men’s race.
In addition to the winners, the SACP congratulates the veteran athlete, 84-year-old Johannes Mosehla from Limpopo, the undisputed oldest runner in this year’s marathon. He completed his run within the cut-off time at 11:12:00. Mosehla holds the record for the oldest Comrades Marathon runner. In 2023 he broke the record for the oldest runner set in 1989 by legendary runner Wally Hayward, who completed the race at the age of 80. His perseverance and determination added more respect to the world’s most difficult ultramarathon and is an inspiration to the people of South Africa.
Over and above these victories, the SACP also celebrates all social activists, including SACP members, who participated in the marathon with the intention to draw the public’s awareness to social ills that still afflict our society. Among these are comrades who have participated over the years to raise the question of Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation from the Israeli settler regime’s apartheid rule of their country. We reiterate our call for the sports and academic boycott and isolation of Israel until the people of Palestine are free.
In celebrating these victories, and indeed the victories of many other runners, the SACP reminds the people of our country of the important role played by sports in physical and mental development. In that regard, the SACP calls for the government to deepen its role in sports development, with particular focus on youth development in townships and rural areas.
ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
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