After record-smashing season Gerda Steyn sets sights on Olympic marathon

Well rested after an incredible ultra-marathon season that saw her smash two big records, Gerda Steyn is taking tentative steps towards getting ready for an assault at earning a spot in the South African marathon team for next year’s Olympics in Paris.

The Phantane Athletics Club marquee athlete stayed away from the road for a lengthy period after her stellar performances at both the Two Oceans Marathon and Comrades Marathon down run at which she set new best times of 3:29:06 and 5:44:54 respectively.

“I’ve just come back from a long break after the ultra season and it’s been good,” Steyn told TimesLIVE Premium after her run at last month's Absa RUN YOUR CITY Tshwane 10km where she finished in ninth place in 35min 23sec. “Now, I am trying to work towards getting my fitness base to be really solid because I will soon be starting my targeted marathon training.”

Such is Steyn’s versatility that while she is renowned as an ultra-marathoner, she is also good in the standard marathon — that much confirmed by the fact she is the national record-holder with her 2:25:28 in the 42.195km distance.

She will be running her favourite, the New York Marathon, in November intent on booking her spot in the South African team that will be heading to next year's July to August Paris Games. “I am running a marathon at the end of the year and with the aim of getting a qualifying time for the Paris Olympics.”

She ran the Hollywoodbets Durban 10km on Sunday and finished in 33:59 for a 10th place spot before she went for an extra jog to add to the mileage base she is working on building. “It was lovely running in Durban as always because the vibe here is always amazing. I had great fun,” she said afterwards of the race that was won by Hollywood Athletics Club’s Cian Oldknow who ran a personal best time of 32:16.

Steyn added, chuckling: “After these 10ks, all my energies will be focused on training for the marathon. I am yet to announce the name of the marathon I will be running at the end of the year, but I think a lot of people already know which one it is.”

Steyn has run the New York Marathon three times — in 2018, 2019 and 2022 — clocking a 2:31:04; a 2:27:48 and a 2:30:22 respectively. She has also already competed at the Olympics, the 33-year-old runner from Bothaville in the Free State running a 2:32:10 in the heat of Sapporo during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which took place in 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. That time earned her a 15th-place marathon finish, a position she would no doubt be keen to improve on in Paris next year.

Steyn expressed delight at the evident improvement of women’s road running in the country with Glenrose Xaba’s growth as an athlete particularly pleasing for her.

“Both Glenrose and Cacisile [Sosibo] have had some wonderful performances in the Absa Series and the Spar Women’s Challenge recently. They both work very hard and are focused and determined athletes. They are both still young and things are looking great for them. We need this in our country, we know we have the talent, and to see these girls coming through in this way is wonderful.

“Glenrose ran some great times even in the half marathon and I am excited to see her racing at the World Half-Marathon Championships [in Riga, Latvia, on October 1] because I am sure she will do the country proud there.”

Oldknow has also raised her hand and the win in Durban on Sunday has given her renewed confidence ahead of her representing South Africa alongside Xaba in Riga, Latvia, at the end of the month.