WATCH | Romance, crawling, courage and Ubers: What grabbed our attention at the Comrades

29 August 2022 - 14:11 By Mpumelelo Moyo
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An 'Uber driver' advertised his services on the route.
An 'Uber driver' advertised his services on the route.
Image: Twitter / @OscarMagud

Comrades Marathon fever again engulfed Mzansi on Sunday as hilarious and inspirational moments from the race went viral.

The 90km downhill run, the 95th edition of the race, saw SA athletes dominate the men's event, taking all top five positions.

The top medal in the men's race went to Tete Dijana in a time of 5 hrs 30 min 38 sec while previous winner Edward Mothibi (5:33:46) trailed closely behind.

Controversial Russian runner Alexandra Morozova, who had just hours before won a court battle to run the event, won the women's race.

Morozova finished in 6 hrs 12 min 42 sec to improve on her previous two runners-up positions.

Dominika Stelmach (6:25:08) of Poland finished second. Third-placed Adele Broodryk (6:26:34) was the best-placed South African woman.

Unfortunately there was tragedy too, as Mzamo Mthembu of the Hollywoodbets Athletics Club, collapsed near Pinetown and later died.

There were several moments of drama and laughter, which had fans on the edge of their seats.

Here are some that caught our eye:

THROUGH SICKNESS, HEALTH AND EXHAUSTION

Romance really was in the air at the Comrades. One worn-out guy brought spectators to their feet when he was spotted clutching a photo of a woman assumed to be his wife.

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

Joseph Kagiso Ndlovu used the race as an opportunity to propose. 

The love-struck Ndlovu ran for his love, quite literally, and held up a sign with heart emojis printed out for his special lady.

“Prudence, will you marry me? I ran 90k for you,” read the placard in his hands.

She said yes.

CRAWLING OVER THE LINE

Kudos to local runner Jenna Challenor, who finished fourth in the women's race.

She crawled to the line and finished off her race on all fours.

She evidently didn’t want to give up. Way to go, J!

FINISHING IN STYLE

As if finishing a marathon wasn’t enough, one runner crossed the finish line and quickly hit the floor to do some push-ups.

Viewers nearly didn’t see it because the cameras were distracted by another runner sporting purple hair.

WANT A RIDE TO THE FINISH LINE? WE KNOW A GUY

Hustlers were also on the lookout.

An “Uber driver” was on standby with an advert in hand for those who needed to “request” a ride.


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