Gerda Steyn confirmed her place as the greatest South African woman in Comrades Marathon history, claiming a fifth title in record time at the 99th running of the Ultimate Human Race, finishing at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, 14 June 2026.
The 36-year-old, running for Hollywood Athletics Club, completed the 85.77km up run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in 5:44:53. The time set a new women’s up run record, bettering her own benchmark of 5:49:46 from 2024 by almost five minutes. The 2026 up run, the shortest in recent history, sent more than 21 000 runners on their way from outside the Durban City Hall in the early morning.
From the gsport Newsroom Archives, June 2025
Run in the Durban to Pietermaritzburg direction, the up run is widely regarded as the more demanding of the event’s two routes, a climb-heavy course that rewards patience and punishes those who set off too quickly.
It was a fourth consecutive win for Steyn and her fifth overall, extending a run of dominance that began with her breakthrough victory in 2019, when she became the first woman to break six hours on the up run. The result lifts her to second on the all-time list of women’s champions, behind only Russia’s Elena Nurgalieva, and makes her just the second woman to win the race five times.
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Known as the Smiling Assassin, Steyn attacked the punishing KwaZulu-Natal hills with the controlled aggression that has defined her career. She settled into a strong rhythm through the early climbs as the route worked its way inland from the coast towards the notorious Polly Shortts, the decisive ascent that has shaped so many Comrades finishes.
Zimbabwe’s Nobukhosi Tshuma pushed her hardest, matching the champion through the opening and middle stages of the race. The pair ran within sight of one another until around the four-hour mark, when Steyn lifted the pace and pulled clear on the climbs, building a decisive lead over the closing 20 kilometres.
Tshuma held on for second place in 5:53:36, running a measured race to stay clear of the chasers behind her. Irvette van Zyl completed the podium in 6:02:30, her experience and steady pacing carrying her through the final hills. It was a fitting result for van Zyl, one of South Africa’s most experienced road runners, who again delivered on the sport’s biggest stage. The two South Africans in the top three gave the home crowd plenty to celebrate on a landmark day for the country’s distance running.
Steyn now holds course records on both the up and down routes, a feat that places her in a category of her own among South African ultra athletes. Her consistency across an event where conditions and the brutal profile punish the smallest error has set a standard that few in the world can approach.
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The strength of the women’s field showed through the leading places, with athletes from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya, the United States and the United Kingdom all earning gold medals. The depth on display pointed to a healthy future for women’s ultramarathon running, both at home and abroad.
Attention now turns to the centenary edition, the 100th running of the Comrades Marathon, set for 2027. For a new generation of South African women runners, the champion’s example offers a clear message. She has reset the limits of what is possible on these roads, and those who line up alongside her next year will be chasing a standard she keeps raising. The toughest goals on the Comrades route, her career suggests, are well within reach.
2026 Comrades Marathon Women’s Top 10:
1. Gerda Steyn (South Africa) 5:44:53
2. Nobukhosi Tshuma (Zimbabwe) 5:53:36
3. Irvette van Zyl (South Africa) 6:02:30
4. Shelmith Muriuki (Kenya) 6:06:38
5. Naomi Robinson (United Kingdom) 6:07:55
6. Loveness Madziva (Zimbabwe) 6:09:54
7. Courtney Olsen (United States) 6:11:20
8. Dikeledi Majaba (South Africa) 6:12:29
9. Jenet Mbhele (South Africa) 6:13:08
10. Carla Molinaro (United Kingdom) 6:14:04
Main Photo Caption: Gerda Steyn claimed a record fifth Comrades Marathon title in the 2026 up run, clocking 5:44:53 to better her own women’s benchmark, at the Hollywoodbets Scottsville Racecourse in Pietermaritzburg. All Photos: Comrades Marathon
Photo 2 Caption: Steyn stretched her unbeaten streak to four straight victories over the demanding Durban and Pietermaritzburg ultra.
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