THE COACH of runners under Nedbank Running Club, Mthandeni Nene, believes that Piet Wiersma can repeat the goal in 2024, by winning the Comrades Marathon that will be run next week.
We are starting with the famous Comrades 87km run byup run (promotion) from Durban, to be observed in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday, June 14.
Wiersma (28) who runs for the Nedbank Running Club, was the last to win the race inup run in 2024 with a time of 5:25:00, leaving Dan Moselwake who also runs for Nedbank who finished second in 5:25:45. In third place was Degefa Lefebo from Ethiopia, also running for Nedbank with a time of 5:27:48.
This runner from the Netherlands, started to show signs of aging running this race for the first time in 2023, indown run (kwehliwa) finished second in 5:14:01, hot on the heels of Tete Dijana who won the race in 5:13:58.
Last year, Wiersma beat Dijana who won the race in the down run, finishing second in 5:25:33 to Dijana who won the race in 5:25:28.
“Piet Wiersma will come to South Africa this week to defend his up run title, which I believe he will be able to defend if you look at the way he has run in Comrades for the past three years,” said Nene.
This coach, who focuses on training KwaZulu-Natal runners under the Nedbank Club, revealed that those in this province who are under this club will compete with them in the Comrades.
Among them are Sithembiso Mqhele, Msawenkosi Mthalane, Pule Sibeko, Bonginkosi Mavuso, Ncedisani Phungula, Nkosinathi Khanyeza and Dion Ross.
In last year’s Comrades, Mqhele took 13th place, and he comes to this year’s Comrades in good form since he took 10th place in the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon of 56km, in Cape Town, in April.
“We prepared the race very well because when we came back from Two Oceans we rested for two weeks and then went to the camp in the Khahlamba mountains.
“That place is very good for runners because it has very good air and it is high.
“We have many campers as a club, some in the North West including Onnalena Khonkhobe, Lloyd Bosman and George Kusche.
“And our women’s team is very strong, this time we have hope that we will enter with the first three. The Top 10 will not be easy for men as usual, but we wish the young man from here, Bongumusa Mthembu, to enter with them,” said Nene.
Dijana and her colleague Edward Mothibi left Nedbank in January and joined the Hollywood Athletics Club.