After falling in love with the Comrades Marathon in his maiden participation in 2023, Dutch-born runner Piet Wiersma knew he had to do everything in his power to win the ultramarathon.
His dream was achieved on Sunday when the 26-year-old student beat stiff competition from tried and tested ultra-marathon stars to reign supreme in the 2024 Up Run.
Wiersma crossed the finish line in 5:25.00 ahead of fellow Nedbank Running Club teammate and South African Dan Moselakwe who made it in a time of 05:25:45.
Ethiopian Degefa Lafebo took the third spot after getting to the finish line in Pietermaritzburg at 5:27:48.
In his first Comrades, Wiersma took many by surprise when he stormed into second place after Down Run champion Tete Dijana last year. Wiersma, Dijana and another former champion Edward Mothibi all smashed the old Down Run record in 2023.
READ: Gerda Steyn and Piet Wiersma triumphant at Comrades Marathon
To conquer the Ultimate Human Race, the Italian-based student had to spend time training in the Kenyan mountains where he was accommodated by a friend.
“This is by far the biggest (achievement) for me,” said Wiersma.
“I’ve said this before, and I think it’s kind of evident that Comrades is the biggest ultramarathon in the world.
“It’s by far the biggest race I’ve participated in, in my life, and I said this last year, I was blown away by how big this race is in South Africa and the audience’s support (I got) even going into the race as an unknown last year.”
It’s that unique spirit of ubuntu that is given to runners by cheering fans on the sides of the road from Durban to KwaZulu-Natal’s capital that made Wiersma feel welcome and pushed him to the crown.
“This year I was constantly gaining support along the route and that gave me energy,” said Wiersma.
“It wasn’t easy, it felt like we started too slow and mentally it was a bit tough, and I knew there were some fast guys in the group.”
Wiersma was disappointed to have missed the Up Run record by a few seconds and has promised to come back for it.
The Up Run record of 5.24.39 is held by Russian runner Leonid Shvetsov and has been standing since 2008.
WATCH: Piet Wiersma from the Netherlands is the 2024 winner of the men's category of the Comrades Marathon from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. Last year, he came second. @ScrollaAfrica pic.twitter.com/unqAYF6dqO
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) June 9, 2024
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