Dijana says he conquered ‘the devil’ to win 2025 Comrades

Tete Dijana believes he conquered “the devil” by winning the 2025 Comrades Marathon on Sunday, recovering from a gruelling run where he struggled with dizziness and cramps to finish 14th last year.

The 37-year-old from Mahikeng in the North West crossed the line in 5hrs 25min 28sec to bag his third Comrades Marathon down run triumph. He won the back-to-back downs in 2022 and 2023.

Dijana beat second-placed Dutchman and last year’s winner Piet Wiersma by just five seconds, replicating the sprint finish between the Nedbank Running Club teammates and result of the last down race in 2023.

“It’s unexplainable. I don’t know what I can say, but I was so excited, very excited,” Dijana said of the feeling of breaking the tape in Durban again.

“I was also emotional because I remember what happened last year. Because I was in the best shape [in 2024], but the devil came, so I was happy that at least the devil didn’t attack me this year.”

Dijana revealed that support from his fans on social media before the race, then along the route, fuelled him. He dedicated the win to his supporters, saying it was always in his mind that he was going to race for them, not for himself.

“I was getting pressure from social media, where people were saying, ‘Don’t let it go again’, so I had to fix everything,” he said, referring to last year's blowout.

“These people were the ones who managed to uplift my spirit when I was down last year, because after Comrades I was very sick, emotionally and physically.

“When I was training, I told myself this year I wasn’t going to run for myself, I was going to run for them.

“This is for you guys [his fans] for always cheering me up because I was down last year — I didn’t know what happened.

“It took time for me to adjust and accept the situation that happened last year, but with their support and my partner’s support, I managed, so I’d say this race was for them.”