{"id":49654,"date":"2023-06-11T21:44:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-11T21:44:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/meet-the-two-runners-who-finished-last-at-2023-comrades-and-stole-durbans-hearts"},"modified":"2023-06-11T23:00:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-11T23:00:11","slug":"meet-the-two-runners-who-finished-last-at-2023-comrades-and-stole-durbans-hearts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/meet-the-two-runners-who-finished-last-at-2023-comrades-and-stole-durbans-hearts","title":{"rendered":"Meet the two runners who finished last at 2023 Comrades and stole Durban’s hearts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>The numbers still need to be confirmed, but it is expected that nearly 15 000 runners completed the 2023 Comrades Marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday.<\/p>\n

It was a magical day that saw participants from all over the world descend on KwaZulu-Natal, and it was made even more special by South African heroes Tete Dijana and Gerda Steyn smashing the down run records on their way to epic victories.<\/p>\n

But not everybody can be a winner.<\/p>\n

As the clock was counting down towards the 12-hour cut-off on Sunday, the Kingsmead crowd saw a couple of runners struggling to the finish.<\/p>\n

They were practically arm-in-arm, with Hollywood Athletic Club’s (Durban) Siphiwe Dludla clearly in a bad way.<\/p>\n

To her left, Worcester’s Jaypee Snyman was doing all he could to will her on.<\/p>\n

The roar when the pair crossed the finish line was deafening and, with nobody behind them making the cut-off, they were officially the last two to finish the race this year.<\/p>\n

Dludla couldn’t stand.<\/p>\n

With the help of an official propping her up, she smiled through the pain and thanked her newly-acquired friend for life.<\/p>\n

“This one must go down in the history of South Africa!” a broken Dludla said.<\/p>\n

“I didn’t expect to finish. My back was so sore. This was my first time having this problem.<\/p>\n

“But I’m no longer sore because I am happy. I will never forget Jaypee. He will always be my friend. He has done so much for me.”<\/p>\n

This was Dludla’s sixth completed Comrades, while Snyman’s story is equally inspiring.<\/p>\n

He has now completed 19 of the 20 Comrades he has started, with his only failed effort last year’s down run when he says he suffered a mental block.<\/p>\n

That anguish makes Sunday’s return to a medal even sweeter for the 56-year-old farm school teacher.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know her. I just met her as a comrade on the race,” said Snyman.<\/p>\n

“I’m feeling fine. I’m a teacher on a farm school, and the social circumstances there are so bad. Last year, I didn’t have enough power within me to fight the last six kilometres.<\/p>\n

“I stood still and knew my body wouldn’t make it, even though I had enough time. But my mind wouldn’t get me there.”<\/p>\n

Snyman says he was not concerned that helping Dludla might potentially cost him another finish.<\/p>\n

“I saw the time and didn’t panic,” he said.<\/p>\n

“She was trying to push, and I had to calm her down. That’s the spirit of what this race is about. It’s about human kindness and camaraderie.”<\/p>\n

Snyman insists he will be back next year, taking on the route for the 21st time.<\/p>\n

“I will do this until I can’t,” he said.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. The numbers still need to be confirmed, but it is expected that nearly 15 000 runners completed the 2023 Comrades Marathon from Pietermaritzburg to Durban on Sunday. It was a magical day that saw participants from all over the world descend on KwaZulu-Natal, and it was made even more special by South […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":49653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,17],"tags":[274,315,523,409,285,942,275],"class_list":["post-49654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-south-africa","tag-athletics","tag-comrades-marathon","tag-durban","tag-pietermaritzburg","tag-south-africa-2"],"yoast_head":"\nMeet the two runners who finished last at 2023 Comrades and stole Durban's hearts - South Africa<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The numbers still need to be confirmed, but it is expected that nearly 15 000 runners completed the 2023 Comrades Marath ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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