The reign is likely to continue unabated — at least for the foreseeable future. But there’s every reason to believe it will not be the no-contest it had been in previous years.
Gerda Steyn’s fourth victory in the Comrades Marathon was not as compellingly dominant as her previous three. The Smiling Assassin beat second-placed Alexandra Morozova by just three minutes, clocking 5:51:09 in Sunday’s Down Run from Pietermaritzburg to Durban.
Steyn sportingly welcomed the challenge, with the Russian runner — who won three years ago in her absence — just a minute behind at one stage of the race.
“To have had that competition was also good, not just for me to raise my performance but also for the race,” Steyn said, during the post-race media conference deep in the bowels of the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
“It is no surprise to see a tight time of only three minutes between us, because Alexandra had done well. We can expect faster times to come — and Comrades deserves it.”
The Hollywood Athletics Club star said she relishes being challenged and enjoys seeing more talented runners enter the race because “it is exciting to get competition.
“As I said in the pre-race conference,” she added, “we are entertainers, and I hope it (the race) was great to watch. It is not a one-woman show.
“When I heard Alex (Morozova) had gained a minute on me at Fields Hill, it made me work harder. The competition makes me want to be in my very best shape whenever I go into the race.”
Queen of Comrades! 👑🇿🇦
Gerda Steyn crossed the finish line in 5:51:19 to secure her 4th Comrades Marathon title!
A phenomenal performance from Gerda.🏃♀️🔥#Comrades2025 #TeamSA #ForMyCountry pic.twitter.com/4tzIdh40z2
— Team South Africa (@OfficialTeamRSA) June 8, 2025
She was indeed in stellar shape on Sunday and, though she did not lead from the outset, she always looked destined for another comfortable victory —despite the high calibre of the elite women’s start list.
While she felt at her best on the day, Morozova readily admitted that Steyn was world-class.
“I had a good feeling — the best shape for Comrades that I’ve ever had. I kept the pace with Gerda, and I almost thought I could keep it to the end of the race. But I remembered that everyone who tries to keep up with Gerda early on always has a bad finish, so I decided to let Gerda run and just did my best.”
Though she cramped and stopped three times to stretch, Morozova was pleased with her performance.
“For the last 40km I ran with Gerda. I’m glad I held my second place, because at one stage I felt the race was over for me—and that would have been really bad.
“I saw Dominika (Stelmach) closing the gap and was afraid she was catching me. I ran my best pace at Comrades, and I’m happy with how I finished.”
