Tete Dijana (foreground) wins the 2025 Comrades Marathon with Piet Wiersma coming in in seocnd place behind him at the finish at the People's Park in Durban on Sunday.
Image: Darren Stewart/Gallo Images

Tete Dijana, the 2025 Comrades Marathon winner, said he was “in full control” even as Dutchman and Nedbank Running Club teammate Piet Wiersma made a charge in the last 2km to close the gap to within about 50m.

Dijana and Wiersma’s rivalry is becoming the stuff of Comrades legend.

The South African, a former security guard from Mahikeng in the North West, pipped the Dutchman by three seconds in a sprint finish in the 2023 down run.

Wiersma — after becoming a full-time runner and, as he did ahead of this Sunday’s race too, toughening himself in a pre-race camp in the Kenyan mountains in Spartan conditions — won his first Comrades in last year’s up run, where Dijana limped over the line with cramps in 14th.

Dijana — who clinched his third Comrades win, adding to those won in the successive down runs of in 2022 and 2023 — ran another down tactical masterclass on Sunday, crediting Nedbank Running coaching guru Dave Adams for the plan.

“Before we left on Thursday we had a word with the coach and he explained everything and told us to stay with the splits,” 37-year-old Dijana told SuperSport TV.

“We came with a race plan. It didn’t work for my captain [fourth-placed Edward Mothibi] but I was very light and I could feel I could move.

“My first 30km were a bit harder. I didn’t get enough rest yesterday [on Saturday]; I think maybe it was anxiety or something.”

After passing Two Oceans winner Onalenna Khonkhobe, who went out fast taking the lead from the first 10km and holding it until breaking down with 16km to go, Dijana surged but was left looking over his shoulder as Wiersma lurked no more than about 300m behind.

The Dutch runner closed the gap in the final 2km and finishing five seconds behind Dijana. The South African won the 89.98km race, about 2km more than the last down run in 2023, in 5 hrs 25 min 28 sec, with Wiersma ending in 5:25:33.

Dijana said he never felt he would concede the lead.

“No, no — I saw it was under control. I saw in the last 10km he was closing the gap. And then I accelerated a bit and opened a gap and I could see that in the last 2km he was still far [behind].

“It was under control.”

Asked what it means for him to win his third Comrades, Dijana replied with a wry smile, referring to last year’s race: “Corrections.”

Wiersma revealed he had what he thought was food poisoning three days before the race.

“In many ways almost a copy of two years ago and in some way it was different,” the 27-year-old told SuperSport.

“Like, I feel I’m a much better athlete than two years ago. I’ve done better training, I’m running full time now.

“But it was just not 100% today. I barely slept the last three nights, had stomach issues. I think I got some food poisoning two days ago.

“I feel I recovered this morning but it was just not 100% and Tete just was the best today so congrats to him.”

Wiersma said he thinks he can have Dijana’s number again in next year’s up run.

“I’ll obviously be back. I mean Tete’s clearly the down run king right now but I hope I can be the up run king next year again.”

Mothibi, the 2019 up run winner, was part of a three-man group with Dijana and Wiersma that passed Khonkhobe on Cowies Hill. He ended in fourth place after being passed by Russian second-time Comrades runner Nikolai Volkov, who took third in 5:29:42, while Mothibi ran a 5:31:41.

Mothibi said he started cramping with about 20km to go.

“Oh yes, I’m so proud of the ‘youngster’,” the 40-year-old quipped of teammate Dijana’s win.

“Today was not a good day for me. I was fit, I was ready; it’s only when you run where you don’t know what to expect.

“With 20km to go I started cramping but I held on. When Tete saw I was not coming back he asked me, ‘Brother what’s going on?’

“I said, ‘I’m getting cramps so I don’t think I’ll be good to run with you, so if you have a chance to go, just go’.

“And he did exactly that.”