One of the most grueling ultramarathons on the planet just delivered one of its most spectacular editions yet.
The 99th Comrades Marathon roared through South Africa on June 14, producing record-shattering performances, emotional debut victories, and a collective prize purse of over R8.2 million — a 10% jump from the previous year.
George Kusche and Gerda Steyn headlined the show, each walking away with more than R2 million in prize money after dominant, record-breaking wins on the iconic Up Run course.
But buried in the results is a story that deserves its own spotlight — a South African rookie who outran nearly the entire elite field on his very first attempt.
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George Kusche Rewrites 18 Years of History
George Kusche didn’t just win the 2026 Comrades Marathon — he obliterated a record that had stood untouched for nearly two decades.
Crossing the line in 5:15:56, the South African shattered Leonid Shvetsov’s Up Run record of 5:24:49, set all the way back in 2008. That’s nearly nine full minutes sliced off a benchmark that had survived the sport’s finest for 18 years.
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Kusche also set a new Best Average Pace for the Up Run — 3:40.99 per kilometre — surpassing Vladimir Kotov’s mark of 3:43.75/km that had stood since 2000.
With prize money for topping the men’s field, the record incentive bonuses, and the first South African finisher award, Kusche’s total earnings for the day climbed to R2,322,000.
CMA General Manager Alain Dalais was effusive in his praise at the Champions Prizegiving Breakfast, held the following morning at the Southern Sun Elangeni Hotel in Durban.
These two superb athletes proved they were the best on the day, winning multiple prizes on offer, and they have been richly rewarded for their world-class performances with over R2-million in prize money each.
Gerda Steyn Makes History — Again
If Kusche’s performance was stunning, Gerda Steyn’s was almost unfair.
The South African superstar claimed her third Up Run victory and fifth Comrades title overall, finishing in 5:44:53 — well inside her own women’s Up Run record of 5:49:46 set in 2024. She also broke her own Best Average Pace mark, running 4:01.24 per kilometre.
Steyn swept the Cell C Hot Spot prize in Camperdown and was part of the Hollywood Athletics Club team that claimed the Women’s Elite Team prize. All told, her day’s earnings reached an extraordinary R2,388,192.
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Zimbabwe’s Nobukhosi Tshuma was a strong second in 5:53:36, a massive leap from her fifth-place finish in 2024. South Africa’s Irvette van Zyl rounded out the podium in 6:02:30, improving on her debut fourth-place finish from last year — though she didn’t sugarcoat the effort.
Van Zyl described the Up Run as one of the hardest things she’d ever done.
Lloyd Bosman’s Debut Gold Is the Feel-Good Story of the Race
Finishing seventh overall in a time of 5:28:53, Lloyd Bosman secured a gold medal on his very first Comrades Marathon attempt.
The drama didn’t stop there. Bosman passed a cramping Nikolai Volkov — a seasoned Comrades veteran — just metres from the finish line to claim seventh place. Volkov, who had been in the top five for much of the race, had to settle for eighth as his legs gave out at the worst possible moment.
Bosman wasn’t alone in turning a debut into gold. Mbuti Mollo, who finished third overall in 5:21:31, and Tebogo Pulusa in 10th also claimed gold medals on their maiden Comrades outings. Japan’s Haruki Okayama, the former 100km World Champion, did the same in fifth place.
That’s four men finishing in the top 10 on debut — all earning gold. An almost unthinkable result in one of ultra-running’s most punishing events.
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