The 2026 Comrades Marathon delivered many memorable performances on the gruelling 85.777km journey from Durban to Pietermaritzburg, though few stories captured the spirit of the race quite like those of Johannes Mosehla and Bailey O’Leary.
Separated by 64 years in age, the pair finished the 99th edition of the Ultimate Human Race as its oldest and youngest official finishers.
Mosehla, 84, crossed the line in 11:12:26 on Sunday to break his own record as the oldest finisher in Comrades history. In doing so, the Polokwane Running Club member finished ahead of thousands of runners many decades his junior.
The veteran runner, who began his running journey in 1963, said the achievement was a source of pride and gratitude.
“To be the oldest finisher at Comrades is a great honour,” said Mosehla.
“This race continues to inspire me every year. Running has given me so much throughout my life. I hope my journey encourages people to stay active, stay disciplined and keep chasing their goals regardless of age.”
“You must listen to your body, eat well, rest properly and enjoy what you are doing. Running should bring happiness. I still love training in the mountains and spending time outdoors.”
While Mosehla represented experience and endurance, O’Leary embodied youthful ambition.
The 20-year-old, who lives in the United Kingdom and whose parents are both originally from Durban, finished her Comrades debut in 10:42:51 to become the youngest female finisher in this year’s race.
Her first Comrades was made even more special by sharing the journey with her father, Jon O’Leary.
Proud dad Jon O’ Leary with his daughter Bailey O’ Leary at the Comrades Winners breakfast on Monday 15 June 2026. Photo: Adnaan Mohamed
“I grew up supporting my dad and listening to stories about Comrades,” said Bailey.
“He inspired my love for the race and it was always my dream to run my first Comrades with him. He helped me a lot, especially in the first half, and crossing the finish line was incredibly special.”
For Jon, the day was about far more than another medal.
“It was one of the proudest moments of my life,” he said.
“Comrades means so much to our family. To see Bailey achieve her goal and share the experience with her from start to finish was unforgettable.”
As the Comrades Marathon prepares to celebrate its centenary in 2027, both runners have already confirmed their intention to return.
Mosehla will aim to extend his remarkable record, while O’Leary hopes to secure a special back-to back medal awarded to novices for consecutive finishes.
Bailey O’ Leary in action on the 2026 Comrades Marathon Up Run Route Photo: Supplied
Their stories served as a powerful reminder that Comrades remains a race where generations meet, dreams endure and the finish line belongs to anyone willing to keep moving forward.
For Dijana, preparation has followed a familiar script.
The three-time Down Run champion says an injury-free training block and altitude camp in Dullstroom have laid a solid platform for another assault on the title, with the biggest adjustment coming in mindset rather than methodology.
“The preparation went well and injury free,” Dijana said.
“Our training stays more or less the same because the hills are always there, but mentally you have to approach it differently and put more emphasis on strength.”
Hollywood’s backing has also given him confidence throughout the campaign, although the defending champion is not buying into suggestions that there is no pressure.
“I’m defending. I have to deliver and make history for myself,” he said.
Alongside him is Mothibi, whose move to Hollywood has strengthened an already imposing purple challenge.
The 2019 winner says he has largely trusted the methods that brought success in previous years, with extra focus placed on improving speed to match a younger generation of contenders.
Hollywood AC’s Happy Bunch taking a break during training. Photo: Supplied
He believes some of his biggest rivals are the athletes he trains with every day.
“Tete is part of our Happy Bunch,” Mothibi said. “I know how fit those guys are because I train with them. Those are the competitors I understand best.”
Mothibi also praised Hollywood’s athlete-first approach, saying the club creates an environment free from unnecessary pressure while giving runners every opportunity to perform.
Standing in their way is Wiersma, whose remarkable rise has transformed him into one of the race’s biggest stars.
The Dutchman insists being labelled defending champion feels strange after winning the last Up Run rather than last year’s Down Run, though he believes this could be the strongest preparation of his career.
“I’ve done the best training of my life,” Wiersma said.
After overcoming illness earlier in the season and maintaining a carefully controlled routine, he arrives convinced he has given himself every possible chance.
His respect for Dijana and Mothibi remains evident despite the changing club colours.
“Before the race and after the race we’re friends,” he said.
“During the race we don’t show each other mercy, no matter what colours we’re wearing.”
Perhaps the strongest insight into Wiersma’s mindset comes from his description of unfinished business.
He has finished second by seconds, won while narrowly missing the course record and again fallen agonisingly short of victory.
Now he believes the depth of this year’s field could produce something special.
“With a field this strong, there’s a very high chance the course record will be broken,” he said.
For Wiersma, Comrades has changed his life, providing the platform to pursue professional running full time after shelving plans for a PhD.
Living and training in Kenya has also reshaped his perspective.
“The mindset there is incredible,” he said. “People wake up every day knowing they have to do everything right because it affects what happens months later.”
By sunrise on Sunday, predictions will count for little.
The road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg has a habit of humbling favourites and elevating dreamers.
If Dijana’s pursuit of history, Mothibi’s experience and Wiersma’s relentless ambition unfold as expected, the 2026 Comrades Marathon could produce another chapter worthy of its legendary status.
Defending championGerda Steyn believes every Comrades Marathonrunner reaches a point where determination matters more than physical strength, with the 2026 edition set to celebrate the 50th official Up Run from Durban to Pietermaritzburg.
Steyn’s message comes as thousands prepare for one of South Africa’s most iconic sporting events, a race renowned for its unforgiving climbs and emotional finish-line drama.
“Comrades will always humble you at some point in the journey,” said the South African Olympian and ultra-marathon star. “The hardest moments are often where the race truly begins mentally. Sometimes all it takes is one reminder to keep moving forward.”
The 2026 race also embraces the theme“Ska Fela Moya”, meaning “Don’t Give Up”, a message that reflects the resilience associated with the Comrades Marathon and the mental battle Steyn believes defines the event.
Another highlight will be the celebration of the Green Number Club, reserved for athletes who have completed 10 or more Comrades Marathons, earned five gold medals or claimed three victories. Their permanent race numbers remain among the event’s most respected symbols of consistency and endurance.
The 50th official Up Runadds further significance to this year’s race, with competitors facing famous climbs including Cowies Hill, Fields Hill and Polly Shortts before reaching Pietermaritzburg.
OMO, now in its second year of involvement with the ultra-marathon, says its Stay Unbeatable campaign aligns closely with the resilience displayed by runners and supporters throughout the event.
“At OMO, we celebrate the people who keep going when life gets tough, whether it’s runners pushing through pain, families supporting from the sidelines, or everyday South Africans overcoming stains in their own lives. That’s why Comrades is such a powerful platform for our Stay Unbeatable message. It reflects the determination, heart, and refusal to give up that inspire the nation every year.”
The race’s emotional climax will once again arrive at the 12-hour cut-off, where exhausted runners chase the finish line against the clock in scenes that have become synonymous with the Comrades Marathon.
For Steyn, that spirit defines the event more than medals or records. The road eventually tests every athlete, and the greatest challenge often begins long after the legs have started to fade.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon is poised for a potentially historic Sunday as one of the deepest elite fields ever assembled on African soil prepares to attack the record books beneath Table Mountain.
The 32nd edition of the race has attracted 27,000 marathon runners and a combined total of 44,500 participants across the weekend’s events, while the elite field carries enough firepower to threaten both course records.
In the men’s race, 13 athletes have already run faster than the current course mark of 2:08:16 set by Abdisa Tola in 2024. Ten of them have dipped beneath that time within the last year.
Leading the charge is marathon icon Eliud Kipchoge, the two-time Olympic champion and former world record-holder, whose personal best of 2:01:09 makes him the fastest athlete in the field historically.
Although now 41, Kipchoge remains a formidable contender after clocking 2:05:25 in London last year.
Ethiopia’s Mohamed Esa enters with arguably the sharpest recent form after posting 2:04:49 in Chicago in 2025, while Israel’s Maru Teferi arrives with a personal best of 2:04:44.
Mohamed Esa
Kenya’s Benard Kipkurui Biwott and Justus Kangogo, alongside Ethiopians Yihunilign Adane, Mulugeta Asefa Uma and Boki Kebede Asefa, add further depth to a field packed with sub-2:06 runners.
Another major contender is Adane Gebre Kebede, who won in Cape Town in 2023 and finished runner-up in 2024. His recent 2:06:16 in Houston suggests he could again feature prominently.
South Africa’s hopes will largely rest with three-time champion Stephen Mokoka, alongside Desmond Mokgobu, Bennet Seloyi and debutant Anthony Timoteus.
The women’s race also promises fireworks.
South African star Glenrose Xaba set the course record of 2:22:22 in 2024, producing the fastest women’s marathon ever run on African soil. This year’s elite lineup includes five women who have already run faster than 2:20.
Ethiopian trio Ruti Aga, Dera Dida and Mestawat Fikir are expected to spearhead the challenge. Aga owns a 2:18:09 best, while Dida and Fikir have clocked 2:18:32 and 2:18:48 respectively.
Edna Kiplagat
Experienced campaigners Lonah Salpeter and Edna Kiplagat add further quality to the field. Salpeter remains the fastest woman in the race historically with her 2:17:45 Tokyo victory in 2020, while two-time world champion Kiplagat continues to compete at elite level at 47.
“We have assembled the best marathon elite and wheelchair fields the African continent has ever seen, led by the best marathon runner of all time, Eliud Kipchoge,” said Clark Gardner.
“With so many starters who have run faster times than our course records, we feel confident that the record books will need updating after this year’s race.”
The race also represents another significant milestone in Cape Town’s bid to become Africa’s first Abbott World Marathon Majorsevent, alongside marathons in New York, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Sydney and London.
In the narrow cobbled lanes of Dorp Street in Bo-Kaap, rugby flows through the neighbourhood like the south-easter whipping around Table Mountain. On Saturdays, the streets empty. Families gather around televisions or pack into club grounds. The game lives in the rhythm of the community.
Now one of its daughters is carrying that heartbeat onto the international stage.
Insaaf Levy is preparing to become the first qualified medical doctor to represent the senior Springbok Women side at the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in Nairobi.
Insaaf Levy when she is not on the rugby field Image: Instagram
At 23, Levy already moves through life with the composure of a seasoned scrumhalf guiding forwards around the park. In March, she completed her medical degree at the University of Cape Town while continuing to sharpen her craft for DHL Western Province Women.
Balancing medicine and elite rugby is like trying to defend a five-metre scrum with one shoulder. The physical and mental demands rarely leave space to breathe. Yet Levy navigated both worlds with the precision of a long spiral pass fired into the chest of a charging runner.
Her rise to the national squad under headcoach Swys de Bruin feels significant far beyond rugby.
Insaaf Levy in action on the rugby field Image: Instagram
This is a story stitched together by family, community and relentless repetition.
Levy grew up in one of Cape Town’s richest rugby bloodlines. Her father, Labeeb Levy, is a respected Stormersskills coach and current Stormers XXIII head coach. Her maternal grandfather, the late Sedick Sieed, remains a revered figure in Cape rugby circles from the Saru era.
Inside the Levy household, rugby conversations arrive as naturally as dinner.
“We always talking about rugby in our household,” Levy said.
“My dad would go from a normal conversation about literally anything else. He would think about something he saw and then the conversation just switches.”
That constant education shaped her rugby intelligence long before provincial colours arrived.
At seven years old, Levy began playing touch rugby and quickly emerged as one of the country’s brightest talents. She represented South Africa at the Youth Touch World Cup in Malaysia in 2018 and later featured at senior Touch World Cups in Malaysia and England. Her sporting versatility stretched further into netball, where she represented the Western Province U21 side while studying medicine.
Every layer of that journey helped fashion the calm, instinctive scrumhalf now standing on the edge of Springbok selection.
“As a scrumhalf, passing has been my main focus since I was younger,” Levy explained.
“My dad would say come after supper you have to pass 500 balls left and right, then you can go do what you want.”
Those repetitions became the bricks of her game. Her passing now zips across the field like a ball skimming off wet turf under floodlights.
Levy studies the craft obsessively. She admires Antoine Dupont and Aaron Smith for their control of tempo and tactical awareness, while drawing local inspiration from Felicia Jacobs.
Yet rugby in Bo-Kaap is never an individual story.
Haashim Pead and Insaaf levy firing passes on a tennis court in Bo-Kaap as children
The same streets that nurtured Levy also shaped risingJunior Springbok scrumhalf Haashim Pead. Video clips of the pair as children firing passes on a tennis court now feel like snapshots of a community producing talent with assembly-line consistency.
The rugby roots run even deeper through her younger sister, Nuha Levy, a gifted flyhalf already excelling for South Africa Women U18 and DHL Western Province Women U20. Earlier this month, Nuha steered WP to the national U20 Women’s Week title in Alberton.
Together, the sisters carry the tantalising possibility of one day becoming a Springbok halfback pairing forged in Bo-Kaap’s rugby furnace.
Nuha and her sister Insaaf Levy could one day play together for the Springbok Women Image: Instagram
For Levy, however, identity stretches beyond sport.
She speaks proudly about her late grandfathers, Sedick Sieed and Tahir Levy, whose influence grounded her in service and humility.
“Papa [Tahir Levy] selflessly dedicated his entire life to serve his community as an activist and social worker,” she said.
That spirit of service now shapes both halves of her life.
“Studying medicine while playing rugby was tough to manage,” Levy admitted.
“Now that I am qualified and working, I am looking forward to not only serving the ball from the base of a scrum but also being of service to my community as a doctor.”
Swys de Bruin, head coach of the Springbok Women Image: SA Rugby
De Bruin believes those qualities elevate her value within the squad.
“Insaaf earned this opportunity through consistency, game understanding and work ethic,” he said.
“She reads space very well; she has a calm temperament under pressure and her decision-making around the breakdown impressed us throughout the season.”
South Africa’s Rugby Africa Women’s Cup campaign against Madagascar, Uganda and Kenya is another building block ahead of a demanding international season that includes Tests against the USA and the Black Ferns.
The Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon has raised the stakes for 2026, announcing a combined R2.6 million prize purse that further cements its status as one of the world’s premier road running events.
Dubbed the World’s Most Beautiful Marathon, the iconic Cape Town race will see increased prize money across both its flagship events. The internationally renowned Ultra Marathon and the ever-popular Half Marathon will get a significant boost as organisers look to attract top-tier local and international talent.
The Ultra Marathon will account for the lion’s share of the purse, with R2 177 400 on offer, while the Half Marathon prize money has been boosted to R422 600, a move organisers believe was long overdue.
“The Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon has always been about more than just finishing the race – it’s about celebrating the spirit of running, pushing boundaries, and inspiring excellence,” said Chris Goldschmidt, chairperson of the Two Oceans Marathon NPC.
“By increasing the prize purse for 2026, we’re not only recognising the dedication and talent of elite athletes but also raising the profile of the event on the global stage. It’s a clear statement that the Two Oceans Marathon is committed to fostering world-class competition while honouring our rich heritage in road running.”
At the sharp end of the Ultra Marathon, male and female winners will each pocket R380 000, with runners-up earning R220 000 and third place R100 000. The Open Category prize money will be shared among the top 10 finishers, ensuring depth and competitiveness throughout the elite field.
The Half Marathon Open Category will distribute R298 000, with winners taking home R50 000, second place R30 000 and third R18 000, again across both men’s and women’s races.
Prize money will also be paid across multiple age categories in both events, rewarding consistent excellence beyond the podium. Additional allocations have been made for Top WPA Athletes, Top South African Athletes (Ultra only) and Teams, underlining the race’s inclusive competitive structure.
General manager Wade Bromfield said the increase in prize money was about more than financial reward.
“Increasing the prize purse is more than just a financial boost – it’s an investment in the athletes and the integrity of the race itself,” Bromfield said.
“It shows our commitment to supporting both local and international elite runners, while also elevating the prestige of the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon. This step reinforces our mission to create a race experience that inspires ambition, celebrates achievement, and upholds our position as a world-class event.”
Bromfield added that the enhanced Half Marathon purse was a particularly significant milestone.
“We are especially proud to introduce a significantly enhanced prize purse in the 2026 Half Marathon, an increase that has been long overdue,” he said.
“By investing in both the Ultra and Half Marathon, we are rewarding excellence, while reinforcing our dedication to the running community. We are proudly celebrating elite performance while ensuring the Totalsports Two Oceans Marathon continues to be one of the most prestigious and exhilarating races on the global calendar.”
